Understanding bidirectional and transactional relations in parent and offspring mental health: Using COVID-19 pandemic data to gain insights

Background: Bidirectional and transactional models of parent-child mental health symptom exchange suggest that parents and offspring have the potential to influence functioning in each other. Many studies have explored bidirectional associations; however, none have studied transactional associations involving parent internalising, offspring internalising and offspring externalising symptoms. The COVID-19 pandemic was associated with marked changes in parent and offspring mental health, providing an enhanced opportunity to examine bidirectional and transactional relationships over time. Methods: We examined survey data from the UK-based longitudinal COVID-19: Supporting Parents, Adolescents and Children during Epidemics (Co-SPACE) study over four time points during the first year of the pandemic. Data from 2,548 parents/carers of 4-16-year-old children, collected between May 2020 and May 2021, were analysed using cross-lagged panel modelling. Results: There were significant differences in bidirectional associations between parent internalising symptoms, offspring internalising and offspring externalising symptoms according to offspring age. We found transactional relations between parent internalising and offspring internalising symptoms, but this finding was driven by older offspring. Conclusions: These findings suggest that parent and offspring mental health symptoms are likely to interact over time, and that the pattern of exchange may be particularly pronounced in older offspring.