Anxiety disorders more likely to pass from dad to son, or mum to daughter

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2022-07-13 01:00

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A Canadian study of nearly 400 people found men were more likely to have an anxiety disorder if their dad had one than if their mum had one, and girls were more likely to have an anxiety disorder if their mum had one than if their dad had one. So, people with a same-sex parent with an anxiety disorder were more likely to have an anxiety disorder themselves than people with an opposite-sex parent with an anxiety disorder. The researchers say this suggests a role for environmental factors, such as learning from and imitating a same-sex parent, in the development and transmission of anxiety disorders. The team suggests future research should investigate whether treating parents’ anxiety can protect their children from developing an anxiety disorder.