Are my child’s behavior patterns from genetics or the environment?

As a child develops, certain behaviors emerge that often make parents wonder if it’s coming from genetics or environmental factors – the classic “Nature vs. Nurture” debate. Dr. Sara Coffey, board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist with OSU Medicine, answers some of these questions.

Q: With the behaviors and psychiatric concerns in childhood and adolescence, how much of that is Nature vs. Nurture?

A: It’s both. As a child psychiatrist, I’m always asking about family history because we know that for most of our psychiatric disorders – whether it be depression, or anxiety, or ADHD – there is what we call a familial or genetic component. So if you’re a parent, and you struggle with anxiety, there is a concern that your son or daughter might be at increased risk for anxiety. But we also know that the environment plays a role as well. And so really it’s both that can contribute.

Q: Do you see that in families where there are a number of siblings?

Oftentimes we ask the parent, “tell us about your mental health.” And they think, wait a second, I’m here for my child. Quite honestly, I feel like I’m a family psychiatrist. Because the parents’ or caregiver’s mental health is just as important as how the kids are doing and they can feed off each other. It’s stressful. Whenever you have anxiety that makes the other person stressed, that then makes the anxiety worse. And so it’s important to take a family approach to treating and healing mental illness.

Q: In that situation, what’s the general reaction from parents?

It depends on the parent. Some parents are really tuned into that and they recognize it. But we also know there’s a lot of stigma around mental illness too. It’s something to approach delicately, but also to reduce shame, because mental illness, just like physical illness, as you mentioned, can be genetic and can be environmental. Just like diabetes which has a genetic component but also there’s an environmental component. There are similarities, and we should approach it with a healing attitude because all of our diagnoses have many therapeutics that can be a lot of help.

If you believe your child could benefit from an appointment with a psychologist or psychiatrist, reach out to OSU Behavioral Medicine. Your pediatrician and/or school counselor are also excellent resources.