Abstract
Lockdowns and social restrictions imposed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic intensified the proximity and reciprocal exposure among members of nuclear families. It is unclear how variation in mental distress during this period is attributed to potential influences of family members. This study used genetic data from adolescents (n = 4 388), mothers (n = 27 852) and fathers (n = 25 953), to disentangle the contributions of parent-driven, child-driven, and partner-driven components to mental distress during the first two months of the Covid-19 lockdown. Separate models also included adolescents’ non-pandemic mental distress as outcomes (n = 13 484). Trio genome-wide complex trait analyses separated two types of genetic components; direct–how an individual’s genotype is associated with their own mental distress, and indirect–how an individual’s genotype is associated with the mental distress of family members. A trio polygenic score (PGS) design was used to investigate associations of specific genetic liability factors with mental distress, and whether these changed over time (PGS×time). Results suggest that family-level genetic factors contribute to mental distress; variance components capturing indirect genetic effects accounted for 10% of adolescent mental distress (mother-driven), 2–3% of maternal (partner-driven), and 5% of paternal mental distress (child-driven). Mothers’ depression and ADHD PGS were positively associated with fathers’ mental distress. No PGS×time interactions were found. Direct genetic effects accounted for 9–10% variance in mental distress across family members, partly explained by genetic variants associated with anxiety, depression, ADHD and neuroticism. These findings highlight the importance of family dynamics and emphasize the potential value of including family members in mental health interventions.
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Code availability
Analysis code is publicly available on GitHub: https://github.com/psychgen/Family-trios-Covid19.
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Funding
We would like to thank Freja Ulvestad Kärki at the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse, The Norwegian Directorate of Health and Haakon Steen at Mental Helse for a valuable discussion of our results. MoBa is supported by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services and the Ministry of Education and Research. We are grateful to all the participating families in Norway who take part in this on-going cohort study. For generating high-quality genomic data, we thank the Norwegian Institute of Public Health (NIPH), the HARVEST collaboration, the NORMENT Centre at the University of Oslo, the Center for Diabetes Research at the University of Bergen, deCODE Genetics, the Research Counsil of Norway, the South-Eastern and Western Norway Regional Health Authorities, the ERC AdG, Stiftelsen KG Jebsen, the Trond Mohn Foundation, and the Novo Nordisk Foundation. Data from the Norwegian Patient Registry has been used in this publication. The interpretation and reporting of these data are the sole responsibility of the authors, and no endorsement by the Norwegian Patient Registry is intended nor should be inferred. This work was performed on the TSD (Tjeneste for Sensitive Data) facilities, owned by the University of Oslo, operated and developed by the TSD service group at the University of Oslo, IT Department (USIT) (tsd-drift@usit.uio.no). The analyses were performed on resources provided by Sigma2 - the National Infrastructure for High-Performance Computing and Data Storage in Norway. The RCN supported Dr Pettersen, Mrs Johannessen and Drs Brandlistuen, Ask, Lund, Hegemann, Corfield, Andreassen, Havdahl and Ystrom (grants 324620, 274611, 324499, 324252, 336085, 336078, 288083, 331640). The South Eastern Regional Health Authority of Norway (Helse Sør-Øst) supported Drs Hannigan, Havdahl, Hegemann and Corfield (grants 2019097, 2020022, 2022083, 2021045). Nordforsk supported Drs Andreassen and Ystrom (grants 164218, 147386) and partly supported this work through the funding to Post-pandemic mental health: Risk and resilience in young people, project number 156298 (Drs Lund, Brandlistuen and Ask). The European Union’s Horizon Europe Research and Innovation Programme (FAMILY) supported Dr Havdahl (grant 101057529), the European Union’s Horizon RIA grant supported Dr Andreassen (101057429) and The European Union supported Drs Eilertsen and Ystrom (GeoGen 101045526 and ESSGN 101073237). Dr Corfield is a member of the MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol which is supported by the Medical Research Council and the University of Bristol (MC_UU_00032/1). Open access funding provided by Norwegian Institute of Public Health (FHI).
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JHP, LJH, EE and HA conceptualized and designed the study. JHP drafted the manuscript. JHP and EE conducted statistical analyses. REB, EE and HA provided supervision. EE, LH, LJH, IOL, PMJ, ECC, EY, OAA, AH, REB and HA reviewed the manuscript and provided important feedback. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Pettersen, J.H., Eilertsen, E., Hegemann, L. et al. Intra-familial dynamics of mental distress during the Covid-19 lockdown. Transl Psychiatry (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-026-03876-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41398-026-03876-z
