ArticleQuality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation2026
Intergenerational associations between maternal health and offspring mental wellbeing: evidence from a nationally representative longitudinal study.
Article in Quality of life research : an international journal of quality of life aspects of treatment, care and rehabilitation, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundMaternal mental health has been linked to a range of offspring outcomes; however, population-based evidence examining intergenerational associations across multiple health-related quality of life (HRQoL) domains over the life course remains limited. This study examines associations between maternal mental health and offspring HRQoL using nationally representative longitudinal data from Australia.
methodsWe used data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. The analytic sample comprised 8,737 offspring linked to 4,966 mothers. Three offspring's HRQoL outcomes were examined: mental health and general health domain of the SF-36 instrument and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Maternal mental health was measured using the SF-36 mental health domain. Associations were estimated using weighted linear regression models with standard errors clustered at the maternal level, adjusting for socioeconomic and demographic characteristics. Gender differences were examined using interaction terms.
resultsHigher maternal mental health was significantly associated with better offspring mental health in fully adjusted models (β = 0.485 SD, p < 0.001). Higher maternal mental health was also associated with better offspring general health (β = 0.458 SD, p < 0.001). For psychological distress, higher maternal psychological distress was associated with higher offspring psychological distress (β = 0.419 SD, p < 0.001). Higher maternal mental health was also positively associated with offspring psychological distress (β = 0.216 SD, p < 0.001); however, this reflects differences in measurement constructs (higher distress scores indicate worse outcomes) and should be interpreted cautiously. Associations remained statistically significant after covariate adjustment and did not differ by offspring gender.
conclusionsMaternal mental health is associated with multiple dimensions of offspring HRQoL across the life course. These findings highlight maternal mental health as an important correlate of offspring health and underscore the relevance of family-centred, preventive strategies aimed at reducing intergenerational inequalities in mental health.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.