AUTHOR=Yagi Tomoko , Ando Shuntaro , Usami Satoshi , Yamasaki Syudo , Morita Masaya , Kiyono Tomoki , Hayashi Noriyuki , Endo Kaori , Iijima Yudai , Morimoto Yuko , Kanata Sho , Fujikawa Shinya , Koike Shinsuke , Kano Yukiko , Hiraiwa-Hasegawa Mariko , Nishida Atsushi , Kasai Kiyoto 

TITLE=Longitudinal Bidirectional Relationships Between Maternal Depressive/Anxious Symptoms and Children's Tic Frequency in Early Adolescence

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychiatry

VOLUME=12

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.767571

DOI=10.3389/fpsyt.2021.767571

ISSN=1664-0640

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> Previous studies have revealed an association between maternal depressive/anxious symptoms and children's tics. However, the longitudinal relationships between these symptoms remain unclear. We examined the longitudinal relationships between maternal depressive/anxious symptoms and children's tic frequency in early adolescence with a population-based sample.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> The participants consisted of 3,171 children and their mothers from the Tokyo Teen Cohort (TTC) study, a population-representative longitudinal study that was launched in Tokyo in 2012. Maternal depressive/anxious symptoms and children's tics were examined using self-report questionnaires at the ages of 10 (time 1, T1) and 12 (time 2, T2). A cross-lagged model was used to explore the relationships between maternal depressive/anxious symptoms and children's tic frequency.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> Higher levels of maternal depressive/anxious symptoms at T1 were related to an increased children's tic frequency at T2 (β = 0.06, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). Furthermore, more frequent children's tics at T1 were positively related to maternal depressive/anxious symptoms at T2 (β = 0.06, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001).</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> These findings suggest a longitudinal bidirectional relationship between maternal depressive/anxious symptoms and children's tic frequency in early adolescence that may exacerbate each other over time and possibly create a vicious cycle. When an early adolescent has tics, it might be important to identify and treat related maternal depressive/anxious symptoms.</p>