Background. Although many case–control
studies have replicated an association between
dysfunctional parenting and a lifetime diagnosis of depression,
few epidemiological studies have
explored the association. In addition, little is known about the
association in non-western countries.
Methods. Using logistic regression analyses, additive and
interactive contributions of parental child-rearing behaviours, as
measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI), toward the risk for
having a lifetime diagnosis of major depressive disorder were explored
in 418 employed Japanese
adults. The diagnosis was provided by using the Inventory to Diagnose
Depression, lifetime version.
The analyses were conducted for male and female subjects separately.
Results. Parental care rather than parental protection
was primary in predicting lifetime depression
in both male and female subjects. An interactive combination of low care
and high protection
(‘affectionless control’) was a significant risk factor
for lifetime depression in male respondents'
reporting child-rearing behaviours of both parents and female
respondents' reporting paternal
child-rearing behaviours. Model improvements when entering the PBI scores
were larger in male
subjects than in female subjects.
Conclusions. The results suggested that a combination of
low care and over-protection increases a
risk to lifetime depression even in a non-clinical sample; that an
association between dysfunctional
parenting (particularly low care) and the development of depression is
independent of culture; and
that Japanese boys are more sensitive than Japanese girls to
dysfunctional parenting as regards the development of depression.