Prevalence of anxiety, depression, and suicidality in adolescents with parental severe mental illness: a controlled study in China

Children of parents with mental illness (COPMI) have not received sufficient support in China despite their genetic and environmental risk of adverse mental health outcomes. This study was conducted for the first time in China to assess mental distress in adolescent COPMI compared with the population-based control (PBC) group of parents without mental disorders. A total of 1,114 participants including 558 COPMI and 556 PBC, aged 12–17, were recruited from the communities and assessed by self-report scales about anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Regression and mediation analyses were used to identify risk factors for mental distress. The estimated prevalence of anxiety and depression in the COPMI group was significantly higher than in the PBC group (anxiety: 3.9% <i>vs.</i> 1.6%, depression: 5.9% <i>vs.</i> 3.4%). A history of parental mental illness was associated with the lack of family communication, which in turn had a significant (BootCI = (0.020 − 0.062)) indirect effect on the increased anxiety and depression levels of the adolescent offspring. Our findings emphasized the necessity to early identify mental distress in COPMI and provide timely and targeted intervention to improve family communication and mental health well-being for these high-risk adolescents.