Abstract
Childhood parental affection and abuse may shape vulnerability to generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) in adulthood through personal mastery and perceived constraints. This three-wave 18-year longitudinal study tested whether sense-of-control dimensions mediated the effects of early parental experiences on later GAD and MDD symptoms (N = 3294; 54.9% women; mean age = 45.6 years, SD = 11.4, range = 20-74 years; 89.7% White compared to African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Native American and other). Structural equation models showed that lower parental affection and higher abuse at Time 1 predicted greater perceived constraints at Time 2 (Cohen's d = -0.396 to 0.510), which in turn predicted greater GAD and MDD severity at Time 3 (d = 0.463 to 0.754). Perceived constraints significantly mediated the links between childhood parental experiences and adult symptom severity for both GAD (d = -0.269-0.319; percentage mediated: 30.0%-69.2%) and MDD (d = -0.343-0.422; 11.0%-44.9%), whereas mastery did not. Mediated effects were somewhat stronger for maternal (11.4%-69.2%) than paternal (11.0%-51.5%) experiences. These findings underscore perceived constraints as a critical mechanism linking childhood parental experiences to later anxiety and depression. Interventions that address maladaptive beliefs about sense of control may improve long-term outcomes for adults exposed to early adversity.