Investigating the heterogeneity of depression in families where a parent has a history of recurrent depression

Weavers, Bryony 2025. Investigating the heterogeneity of depression in families where a parent has a history of recurrent depression. PhD Thesis, Cardiff University. Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

Depression is a common and debilitating mental health disorder. Having a parent with depression is a salient risk factor for adolescent depression. The impact of parental psychopathology on offspring is well-reported and offspring show increased rates of psychiatric disorders. Less is known about the course, identification and presentation of depression in these offspring and their parents. The overall aim of this thesis was to explore the heterogeneity of depression in adults with a history of recurrent depression and their offspring, who were at high familial risk of depression. This was addressed in four empirical chapters (chapters 3, 4, 5 and 6) using longitudinal data from the Early Prediction of Adolescent Depression (EPAD) study and routinely collected healthcare records which were linked to EPAD cohort data. Chapter 3 investigated the longitudinal heterogeneity of depressive course in parents who had a history of recurrent depression, and tested explanations as to why depression persists. Chapter 4 investigated the longitudinal heterogeneity of depressive course in young people at high-familial risk of depression. I utilised rich phenotypic data to define and understand the trajectory classes, analysing both quantitative measures of a broad MDD phenotype and detailed clinical descriptions of individuals representative of each depressive course trajectory class. Chapter 5 investigated the identification of adolescent depression in primary care records, which was linked with EPAD clinical interview data. This chapter explored whether adolescent MDD defined by clinical interview was associated with depression identification/treatment in primary care records, as well as exploring factors associated with this. Finally, chapter 6 explored the heterogeneity of depressive symptom presentation in persistent and less persistent depression, both in parents with a history of recurrent depression and young people at high-familial risk of depression. I used detailed clinical interview data and disaggregated DSM-5 symptoms of MDD to examine patterns of symptoms in persistent and less persistent depression courses. This chapter defined a persistent and less-persistent course of depression using the trajectory classes found in chapter 3 (for parents) and chapter 4 (for young people).

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Date Type:	Completion
Status:	Unpublished
Schools:	Schools > Medicine
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	12 September 2025
Last Modified:	12 Sep 2025 10:32
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/180606

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