{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T22:02:33Z","timestamp":1791583353939,"version":"4.3.4"},"reference-count":48,"publisher":"BMJ","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,6]],"date-time":"2025-10-06T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1759708800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":5,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100010269","name":"Wellcome Trust","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["224243\/Z\/21\/Z Henry Dale Fellowship"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["224243\/Z\/21\/Z Henry Dale Fellowship"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100010269","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100010269","name":"Wellcome Trust","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["by Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["by Wellcome Trust and the Royal Society"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100010269","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["bmj.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["BMJ Open"],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2025,9,10]]},"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2025,10]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Families offer promising targets for mental health interventions. Existing evidence investigates parent-child dyads or partners; we use an innovative approach to look at triads of parents and their children. This gives us more detail on mental health dimensions and individuals central to mental health transmission in families.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Design<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Both cross-sectional and longitudinal network models<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Setting<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>We identified triads of children (under age 16), mothers and fathers from the UK Household Longitudinal Study, between 2009 and 2022.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Participants and methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Cross-sectional networks captured independent associations between family members\u2019 mental health (n=8795 families). Longitudinal networks examined directional temporal associations among family members\u2019 emotional symptoms (n=3757 families).<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Primary outcome measures<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Children\u2019s and parents\u2019 mental health dimensions were assessed using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the General Health Questionnaire, respectively.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Mothers\u2019 mental health, particularly emotional symptoms, was linked to children\u2019s mental health, while fathers\u2019 symptoms showed no independent association. In the longitudinal network, maternal feelings of being overwhelmed were associated with children\u2019s future worry, affecting symptoms of nervousness and unhappiness, which then fed back into worsening maternal emotional symptoms.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Investigating family mental health using network models highlights mothers\u2019 central role. The longitudinal relationship between maternal feelings of being overwhelmed and children\u2019s anxiety, and the subsequent feedback into maternal anxiety, indicates a promising target for intervention.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2025-104829","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,7]],"date-time":"2025-10-07T07:40:31Z","timestamp":1759822831000},"page":"e104829","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1136\/crossmarkpolicy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":3,"title":["Quantifying cross-sectional and longitudinal associations in mental health symptoms within families: network models applied to UK cohort data"],"prefix":"10.1136","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4894-8779","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yushi","family":"Bai","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Women\u2019s Mental Health, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Archie","family":"Rayner","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Imperial College London, London, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kathryn M.","family":"Abel","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Women\u2019s Mental Health, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK"},{"name":"Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Manchester, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sam","family":"Cartwright-Hatton","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ming Wai","family":"Wan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Psychology and Mental Health, School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Sciences, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Matthias","family":"Pierce","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Centre for Women\u2019s Mental Health, Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"239","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,6]]},"reference":[{"key":"2025120415060035000_15.10.e104829.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.psych.48.1.243"},{"key":"2025120415060035000_15.10.e104829.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Jami ES , Hammerschlag AR , Bartels M , et al . 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