Five-year prospective neuroticism-stress effects on major depressive episodes: Primarily additive effects of the general neuroticism factor and stress

Associations between affective temperament, perceived stress, and helping among Ukrainians and Poles in the context of the war in Ukraine

The Russian aggression of Ukraine has put millions of civilians under immense stress and forced many of them to leave their homes for safety and help. Poland became one of the leading destinations for waves of Ukrainians fleeing this war. The level of perceived stress in people who experienced war depends on various factors, including individual psychological variables. The main aim of this study was to analyze perceived stress levels and the predictive role of affective temperaments, as defined by Akiskal, for perceived stress in Ukrainians and Poles during the first year of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Secondly, we studied the relationship between affective temperament, stress, and commitment to help Ukrainian refugees. Self-report data from 410 Ukrainians and 146 Poles were collected. The results of this study shed light on perceived stress in war-affected populations and the role of affective temperaments in predicting its levels. We also demonstrated the links between affective temperament, perceived stress, and involvement in helping Ukrainian refugees. Understanding the mental status of people affected by war and its predictors is crucial to providing appropriate support and assistance to those in need.

Stress exposure in at-risk, depressed, and suicidal adolescents

BACKGROUND

Stress exposure contributes to the onset, maintenance, and recurrence of major depressive disorder (MDD) in adolescents. However, the precise stress facets (e.g. chronicity, domain) most strongly linked to outcomes at different stages along the depression severity continuum remain unclear. Across two studies, chronic and episodic stressors were comprehensively assessed among: (a) healthy youth with (High-Risk [HR]) and without (Low-Risk [LR]) a maternal history of MDD and (b) adolescents with current MDD and suicide ideation and healthy controls (HC).

METHOD

Study 1 included LR (n = 65) and HR (n = 22) 12- to 14-year-olds (49 females; 56.32%) with no lifetime history of mental disorders. Study 2 enrolled 87 mid-to-late adolescents (64 females; 73.56%), including 57 MDD youth from a short-term intensive treatment service and 30 HCs from the community. All depressed youth reported recent suicide ideation; some had no lifetime history suicide attempts (SI; n = 31) and others reported at least one past year attempt (SA; n = 26). The Life Events and Difficulties Schedule was used to capture stressor severity in both studies.

RESULTS

We used multiple linear regression models that adjusted for demographic and clinical covariates. Being in the HR versus LR group was associated with more severe chronic (β = .22, CI95 = 0.01-0.42, p = .041), independent (β = .34, CI95 = 0.12-0.56, p = .003), and interpersonal (β = .23, CI95 = 0.004-0.45, p = .047) stress severity. By contrast, the MDD group reported significantly more severe chronic (β = .62, CI95 = 0.45-0.79, p < .001) and dependent (β = .41, CI95 = 0.21-0.61, p < .001) stress than the HC group, but not independent (p = .083) stress. Stress severity did not differ between recent attempters versus youth who reported suicide ideation alone (SA vs. SI contrast). However, the SA group reported a higher rate of targeted rejection events (RR = 3.53, CI95 = 1.17-10.70, p = .026).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings clarify the stressor features that may most strongly contribute to adolescent depression and its clinical correlates at two important points along depression's clinical course.

Personality and Pain Outcomes in Rheumatic Disease: The Mediating Role of Psychological Flexibility

BACKGROUND

Chronic pain is associated with increased disability and vulnerability to emotional disorders. Personality and psychological flexibility (PF) describe interindividual differences that shape the adjustment to chronic pain. Specifically, PF was found to be associated with pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression intensity. Although previous studies established strong correlations between personality and pain outcomes, evidence on the nature of this relationship is scarce. Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore the mediating effect of PF on the relationship between personality and distress.

METHODS

This transversal study included 108 participants (age M = 56.7, SD = 11.3) diagnosed with musculoskeletal chronic pain. Self-reported measures were administered by the medical care team. Multiple mediation models were performed for estimating the indirect effects on each outcome variable.

RESULTS

After controlling for age and gender covariates, we found that PF completely mediated the relationship between personality traits and all pain outcomes and partially mediated the impact of extraversion on anxiety. In addition, emotional stability also had an indirect effect on anxiety through PF.

CONCLUSIONS

Personality traits and PF are significant predictors of pain outcomes. PF represents a core process mediating the impact of personality traits on the perceived intensity of pain, fatigue, anxiety, and depression in patients with rheumatic disease. These results could facilitate the application of individualized psychological interventions in clinical contexts targeting the reduction of emotional avoidance and in chronic pain patients.

Addressing global cognition and ineffective depressogenic discrimination strategies with clinical hypnosis

It is a fundamental truth in living that the quality of your decisions shapes the quality of your life. One's cognitive style determines whether one is more likely to be detailed and linear in thinking or more general and impressionistic, obvious influences on the way experiences are interpreted and reactions formed. Global thinking, also referred to as over-general thinking, has been linked to depression for several reasons. These include the lack of detail in making important discriminations that would reduce or eliminate the kind of self-injurious and depressogenic decisions described in the "stress generation" model of depression. The importance of having meaningful strategies for making effective decisions on a situation-by-situation basis cannot be overstated. Cognitive psychologists and cognitive neuroscientists use the term "discrimination" to describe the process of making distinctions between different situations that give rise to one's reactions. In this article, hypnosis is described as a vehicle for teaching global thinkers to be more skilled in making important discriminations. A sample hypnosis script is provided to illustrate the process.

Maladaptive cognitive regulation moderates the mediating role of emotion dysregulation on the association between psychosocial factors and non-suicidal self-injury in depression

Introduction

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is highly prevalent in depression, and is associated with psychosocial factors, emotion dysregulation, and strategies of cognitive emotion regulation. However, the internal combination and interactions of these risk factors in depression remain unclear.

Methods

Data from 122 patients with depression, including 56 with NSSI and 66 without NSSI, were analyzed. Self-rating scales were used to assess psychosocial factors, emotion dysregulation, and cognitive regulation strategies. Sparse partial least squares discriminant analysis (sPLS-DA) was employed to explore internal combinations in each profile. A moderated mediation model was applied to examine their interactional relationship.

Results

The results identified an NSSI-related psychosocial profile characterized by high neuroticism, childhood trauma, poor family functioning, and low psychological resilience. Emotion dysregulation, including high levels of alexithymia, anhedonia, and emotion regulation difficulties, mediated the association between this psychosocial profile and NSSI. The mediated effect was further moderated by maladaptive cognitive regulation strategies.

Limitations

Lack of sufficient information on NSSI frequency and severity. Relatively small sample size for discussing the impact of gender and age of depressive patients with NSSI.

Conclusion

These findings hold important implications for the prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation of NSSI.

Insights from personalized models of brain and behavior for identifying biomarkers in psychiatry

A main goal in translational neuroscience is to identify neural correlates of psychopathology ("biomarkers") that can be used to facilitate diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment. This goal has led to substantial research into how psychopathology symptoms relate to large-scale brain systems. However, these efforts have not yet resulted in practical biomarkers used in clinical practice. One reason for this underwhelming progress may be that many study designs focus on increasing sample size instead of collecting additional data within each individual. This focus limits the reliability and predictive validity of brain and behavioral measures in any one person. As biomarkers exist at the level of individuals, an increased focus on validating them within individuals is warranted. We argue that personalized models, estimated from extensive data collection within individuals, can address these concerns. We review evidence from two, thus far separate, lines of research on personalized models of (1) psychopathology symptoms and (2) fMRI measures of brain networks. We close by proposing approaches uniting personalized models across both domains to improve biomarker research.

Empirically-identified subgroups of children with autism spectrum disorder and their response to two types of cognitive behavioral therapy

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is heterogeneous and likely entails distinct phenotypes with varying etiologies. Identifying these subgroups may contribute to hypotheses about differential treatment responses. The present study aimed to discern subgroups among children with ASD and anxiety in context of the five-factor model of personality (FFM) and evaluate treatment response differences to two cognitive-behavioral therapy treatments. The present study is a secondary data analysis of children with ASD and anxiety (N=202; ages 7-13; 20.8% female) in a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) randomized controlled trial (Wood et al., 2020). Subgroups were identified via latent profile analysis of parent-reported FFM data. Treatment groups included standard-of-practice CBT (CC), designed for children with anxiety, and adapted CBT (BIACA), designed for children with ASD and comorbid anxiety. Five subgroups with distinct profiles were extracted. Analysis of covariance revealed CBT response was contingent on subgroup membership. Two subgroups responded better to BIACA on the primary outcome measure and a third responded better to BIACA on a peer-social adaptation measure, while a fourth subgroup responded better to CC on a school-related adaptation measure. These findings suggest that the FFM may be useful in empirically identifying subgroups of children with ASD, which could inform intervention selection decisions for children with ASD and anxiety.

Risk factors, theoretical models, and biological mechanisms of nonsuicidal self-injury: a brief review

Nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) refers to the direct, deliberate infliction of harm to one's body tissue without the intention to die. The prevalence of NSSI has increased significantly globally in recent years and has become an important public health problem affecting the health of people, especially adolescents. The occurrence of NSSI in adolescents is the result of the interaction of different factors. Many scholars have proposed various theoretical models to explain the mechanism of NSSI behavior based on previous research on the influencing factors of NSSI. Moreover, advances have been made in genetic and neuroimaging mechanisms related to NSSI. Understanding the genetic and neuroimaging mechanisms of NSSI is important for both describing and treating the disorder. This literature review discusses the progress made on the risk factors, theoretical models, and biological mechanisms of NSSI.

Heterogeneity of depression across the socioeconomic spectrum

Why is lower socioeconomic status associated with higher rates of depression? And, is the surplus of depression at lower SES just more of the same type as depression found at higher levels, or is it distinctive? We addressed these questions by examining the relations among SES, amygdala volume, and symptoms of depression in healthy young adults. Amygdala volume, a risk factor for depression, does not synergize with SES in a diathesis-stress relation, nor does it mediate the relation of SES to depression. Rather, SES and amygdala volume are independent, additive risk factors. They are also associated with different depression symptoms and, whereas perceived stress fully mediates the relation of SES to depression, it has no relation to amygdala volume. These findings suggest heterogeneity of depression across the socioeconomic spectrum, with implications for treatment selection as well as for future genetic and brain studies.

Impact of Social Support on Depressive Symptoms among Postgraduates during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Moderated Mediation Analysis

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic continues to spread worldwide, and its related stressors are causing a high prevalence of mental health problems among graduate students. This has the potential for long-term effects on their mental well-being. However, few large-scale studies have been conducted on multiple risk and protective factors. Therefore, we aimed to test the impact of social support on depressive symptoms among graduate students and analyze the mediating role of positive coping and the regulatory role of neuroticism. From 1-8 October 2021, 1812 Chinese graduate students were surveyed online. We used a structural equation model to study the mediating role of positive coping in the relationship between social support and depressive symptoms and used the Hayes PROCESS macro to conduct mediating analysis. The incidence of depressive symptoms was 10.40%. These results showed that positive coping influenced the social support's influence on depression symptoms to some extent. Moreover, neuroticism regulates the indirect relationship between social support and depressive symptoms through active coping. Further research is needed to assess the impact of various forms of social support on graduate students' mental health and to develop strategies for maintaining their well-being, such as network mindfulness.

Three-variable systems: An integrative moderation and mediation framework for developmental psychopathology

In this article, we consider an often overlooked model that combines mediation and moderation to explain how a third variable can relate to a risk factor-psychopathology relationship. We refer to it as moderation and mediation in a three-variable system. We describe how this model is relevant to studying vulnerability factors and how it may advance developmental psychopathology research. To illustrate the value of this approach, we provide several examples where this model may be applicable, such as the relationships among parental externalizing pathology, harsh parenting, and offspring psychopathology as well as between neuroticism, stressful life events, and depression. We discuss possible reasons why this model has not gained traction and attempt to clarify and dispel those concerns. We provide guidance and recommendations for when to consider this model for a given data set and point toward existing resources for testing this model that have been developed by statisticians and other methodologists. Lastly, we describe important caveats, limitations, and considerations for making this approach most useful for developmental research. Overall, our goal in presenting this information to developmental psychopathology researchers is to encourage testing moderation and mediation in a three-variable system with the aim of advancing analytic strategies for studying vulnerability factors.

Depressive symptom trajectory following romantic relationship breakup and effects of rumination, neuroticism and cognitive control

Studying individuals who recently experienced a romantic reltionship breakup allows us to investigate mood disturbances in otherwise healthy individuals. In our study, we aimed to identify distinct depressive symptom trajectories following breakup and investigate whether these trajectories relate to personality traits and cognitive control. Subjects (n = 87) filled out questionnaires (RRS-NL-EXT trait rumination and NEO-FFI neuroticism) and performed cognitive tasks (trail making test, Stroop task) during a period of 30 weeks. To identify distinct depressive symptom trajectories ('trajectory groups'), we performed K-means clustering on the consecutive (assessed every 2 weeks) Major Depression Inventory scores. This resulted in four trajectory groups; 'resilience', 'fast recovery', 'slow recovery' and 'chronic distress'. The 'slow recovery group' and the 'chronic distress group' were found to have higher neuroticism and trait rumination levels compared to the 'resilience group', and the 'chronic distress group' also had higher neuroticism levels than the 'fast recovery group'. Moreover, the 'chronic distress group' showed worse overall trail making test performance than the 'resilience group'. Taken together, our findings show that distinct patterns of depressive symptom severity can be observed following breakup and that personality traits and cognitive flexibility seem to play a role in these depressive symptom patterns.

A multimethod, multiinformant study of early childhood temperament and depression and anxiety symptoms in adolescence

There is an extensive literature documenting associations between dimensions of temperament and depressive and anxiety disorders. However, much of the research in this area relies on cross-sectional and monomethod designs, uses samples of older youth and adults, and examines only the main effects of temperament. We examined longitudinal associations between temperamental positive emotionality (PE) and negative emotionality (NE) in early childhood and depressive and anxiety symptoms in adolescence. We assessed temperament using laboratory observations and parent reports, and symptoms using youth and parent report. We also examined potential moderators of these associations, including maternal and paternal history of depressive and anxiety disorders, youth experience of stressful life events, and parenting styles. Early childhood NE was associated with both adolescent depression and anxiety. Additionally, life events and psychological controlling and firm parenting moderated the associations between NE and depression symptoms, and maternal depression, paternal anxiety, and psychological controlling and firm parenting moderated the associations between NE and anxiety symptoms. Interaction effects were largely consistent with diathesis-stress interpretations. These findings show that temperamental NE, but not PE, is prospectively associated with risk for depressive and anxiety symptoms in adolescence, and that multiple additional factors potentiate these associations. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

The influence of family incivility on cyberbullying perpetration: A moderated mediation model

Previous research has extended the stress literature by exploring the relationship between family incivility and cyberbullying perpetration, yet relatively less attention has been paid to underlying psychological mechanisms between that relationship among university students. According to the Frustration-Aggression Theory, this study examined the relationships of family incivility, cyberbullying perpetration, negative emotions and neuroticism among Chinese university students. Data were collected from 814 university students (females, N = 423; Mage = 19.96 years, SD = 3.09). The results examined the mechanism through which family incivility was significantly related to cyberbullying perpetration through the mediation of negative emotions, suggesting a strong link of stressful life events to online aggression. In addition, high levels of neuroticism moderated the relationship between family incivility and cyberbullying perpetration, as well as that between family incivility and negative emotions. The study revealed the chronic and potential impact of family incivility, underlined the interaction between stressful life events and online aggression, and put forward the intervention strategies of cyberbullying among university students.

The role of healthy emotionality in the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and mental health problems: a cross-sectional study

Understanding pandemic-related psychopathology development is limited due to numerous individual and contextual factors. It is widely accepted that individual differences to endure or cope with distress predict psychopathology development. The present study investigated the influence of individual differences in neuroticism and healthy emotionality concerning the association between fear of COVID-19 and mental health problems. It was hypothesized that healthy emotionality would moderate the mediated link between fear of COVID-19 and mental health problems. A sample of 752 participants (351 males and 401 females) completed an online survey including the Emotional Style Questionnaire, Fear of COVID-19 Scale, the Neuroticism subscale of the Big Five Inventory, and General Health Questionnaire. The results showed that the fear of COVID-19 positively predicted mental health problems (β = .43, SE = .05, p < .001, Cohen’s f² = .24). Neuroticism also showed a significant mediation effect on the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and mental health problems. Fear of COVID-19 indirectly predicted psychopathology through neuroticism (β = − .16, SE = .04, p < .001, t = 4.53, 95% CI [0.11, 0.23]). Moreover, healthy emotionality had a moderating effect on the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and mental health problems, β = − .21, SE = .03, p < .001, t = 5.91, 95% CI [− 0.26, − 0.14]. The study’s findings are expected to contribute to a better understanding of the roles of both individual differences in personality traits and healthy emotionality in psychopathology development during the current pandemic.

Neuroticism, stress, and rumination in anxiety and depression of people with Vitiligo: An explanatory model

Psychological impacts of Vitiligo have been demonstrated, and associations of the skin disease with anxiety and depression disorders have already been shown. However, it is still unclear the role of individuals' personality factors, such as neuroticism, stress, and rumination, as well as sociodemographic characteristics of people with Vitiligo in such disorders. We conducted a study in a community sample of individuals with Vitiligo (N = 324) aiming to test the hypothesis that neuroticism, stress, and rumination are subjacent to these individuals' anxiety and depression symptomatology. We also explored whether individuals' gender might favor the onset or worsening of the psychological consequences of such disorders. Results showed that the relationship between neuroticism, anxiety and depression was mediated by stress and rumination (brooding), being this effect moderated by the participants' gender. Specifically, women's reflection and stress seemed to be important mechanisms to predict their anxiety and depression symptoms, whereas brooding predicts such disorders' symptomatology in men with Vitiligo. These findings may guide future research and clinical interventions for this population, for which it is necessary to consider the psychological consequences of the disease and not just its physiological aspects.

Subiculum-BNST structural connectivity in humans and macaques

Invasive tract-tracing studies in rodents implicate a direct connection between the subiculum and bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST) as a key component of neural pathways mediating hippocampal regulation of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis. A clear characterisation of the connections linking the subiculum and BNST in humans and non-human primates is lacking. To address this, we first delineated the projections from the subiculum to the BNST using anterograde tracers injected into macaque monkeys, revealing evidence for a monosynaptic subiculum-BNST projection involving the fornix. Second, we used in vivo diffusion MRI tractography in macaques and humans to demonstrate substantial subiculum complex connectivity to the BNST in both species. This connection was primarily carried by the fornix, with additional connectivity via the amygdala, consistent with rodent anatomy. Third, utilising the twin-based nature of our human sample, we found that microstructural properties of these tracts were moderately heritable (h2 ∼ 0.5). In a final analysis, we found no evidence of any significant association between subiculum complex-BNST tract microstructure and indices of perceived stress/dispositional negativity and alcohol use, derived from principal component analysis decomposition of self-report data. Our findings address a key translational gap in our knowledge of the neurocircuitry regulating stress.

A Current Learning Theory Approach to the Etiology and Course of Anxiety and Related Disorders

The authors describe how contemporary learning theory and research provide the basis for models of the etiology and maintenance of anxiety and related disorders. They argue that contemporary learning theory accounts for much of the complexity associated with individual differences in the development and course of these disorders. These insights from modern research on learning overcome the limitations of earlier behavioral approaches, which were overly simplistic and have been justifiably criticized. The authors show how considerations of early learning histories and temperamental vulnerabilities affect the short- and long-term likelihood that experiences with stressful events will lead to the development of anxiety disorders. They also discuss how contextual variables during and after stressful learning experiences influence the maintenance of anxiety disorder symptoms. Thus, contemporary learning models provide a rich and nuanced understanding of the etiology and course of anxiety and related disorders. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, Volume 18 is May 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Neuroticism vulnerability factors of anxiety symptoms in adolescents and early adults: an analysis using the bi-factor model and multi-wave longitudinal model

Background

Neuroticism and stress are important vulnerability factors in the development and outcome of anxiety symptoms. However, as neuroticism is a heterogeneity trait, it is still unclear how different neuroticism factors contribute to anxiety symptoms independently or in conjunction with stress. Thus, different factors of neuroticism were extracted in the present longitudinal study using the bi-factor model. The prediction effect of these different factors on anxiety symptoms and their combined effects with stress in both adolescent and adult samples were examined.

Method

Participants (592 adolescents and 638 young adults) in Hunan China were included. In the initial assessment in our longitudinal study, participants were asked to complete measurements that assessed neuroticism, stress, and anxiety symptoms. Next, a monthly assessment of stress and anxiety symptoms was completed for the subsequent 6 months. The bi-factor model was used to extract different factors of neuroticism. The hierarchical linear model was used to analyze longitudinal multi-wave data.

Result

Several model fit indices were used to evaluate the bi-factor model fit for neuroticism (adolescent: Tucker-Lewis index (TLI) = 0.957, comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.973, RMSEA = 0.040, Chi-Square = 80.471; early adults: TLI = 0.957, CFI = 0.973, RMSEA = 0.042, Chi-Square = 88.465). The results of hierarchical linear modeling analyses indicated that the general factor of neuroticism possessed a predictive effect on anxiety symptoms (adolescents: F = 36.77, p < 0.0001, early adults: F = 30.44, p < 0.0001); The negative effect factor only had the prediction effect on anxiety symptoms in early adults (adolescents: F = 0.65, p > 0.05; early adults: F = 4.84, p < 0.05); No prediction of self-reproach factor was found on anxiety symptoms (adolescents: F = 3.79, p > 0.05; early adults: F = 0.02, p > 0.05); the interactive effects of the general factor and stress on anxiety symptoms were only found in early adulthood (adolescents: F = 0.13, p > 0.05; early adults: F = 11.55, p < 0.01).

Conclusion

Our results suggested that the bi-factor model achieved a satisfactory fit for neuroticism measurement and supported that the anxiety symptoms were induced by the main effects of the general factor in both age samples and the negative factor only in adults. The general factor of neuroticism, but not the negative factor could make an additive effect for anxiety symptoms in face of stress, which meant that the homogeneity of neuroticism played a more significant role in further anxiety symptoms than heterogeneity when coping with stress.

Reciprocal effects of neuroticism and life stress in adolescence

BACKGROUND

Stressful life experiences and personality can influence one another. Personality may contribute to the amount and type of stress individuals experience, which is referred to as a selection effect. Life stress may also impact one's personality, which is referred to as a socialization effect. It was hypothesized that neuroticism would predict increased chronic and episodic stress (selection effect) and that chronic and episodic stress would predict increased neuroticism (socialization effect).

METHODS

The current study investigated selection and socialization effects of neuroticism and life stress over a three-year period in 627 adolescents. Life stress data were examined in terms of duration (chronic versus episodic) and type (interpersonal versus non-interpersonal). Episodic stress data were examined as dependent or independent.

RESULTS

The results from ten cross-lagged panel models provided some evidence for significant selection and socialization effects depending on stress type. Over three years, we observed that neuroticism increases interpersonal chronic stress and non-interpersonal stressful events (selection effects) and that dependent non-interpersonal stressful events and chronic stress increase neuroticism (socialization effects).

LIMITATIONS

Study limitations include a lack of a lifespan perspective and a statistical approach that does not differentiate between- from within-person variance.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest the value of attending to stress response as well as targeting neuroticism in prevention and intervention approaches in adolescents.

How Personality Relates to Distress in Parents during the Covid-19 Lockdown: The Mediating Role of Child's Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties and the Moderating Effect of Living with Other People

Since the initiation of the COVID-19 lockdown, Italian parents have been forced to manage their children at home. The present study aimed at investigating the psychological distress of parents during the lockdown, identifying contributing factors. An online survey was administered to 833 participants from 3 to 15 April 2020. Mediation and moderated mediation models were run to explore the association between parent neuroticism and parent distress, mediated by child hyperactivity–inattention and child emotional symptoms, and the moderating effect of living only with child(ren) on the direct and indirect effects of parent neuroticism on parent distress. For parents living only with child(ren), high levels of psychological distress depended exclusively on their levels of neuroticism. For parents living with at least one other person in addition to child(ren), distress levels were also mediated by child behavioral and emotional difficulties. Motherhood emerged as a significant factor contributing to greater distress. Furthermore, parent psychological distress decreased in line with increased child age. The results confirm that neuroticism is an important risk factor for mental health. Preventive measures should be primarily target multicomponent families with younger children and directed towards parents who are already known to present emotional instability and to parents of children who have received local mental health assistance for behavioral and/or emotional difficulties.