Parental child-rearing behavior as measured by the Parental Bonding Instrument in a Japanese population: factor structure and relationship to a lifetime history of depression

Abstract

Background: Recent factor analyses showed that the variance of the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) was more satisfactorily explained by the use of three factors (one factor corresponding to the original care factor and two factors derived from the original protection factor), casting doubt as to the accuracy of previous estimations regarding the associations between parental rearing behavior and depressive disorders.

Methods: 418 employed Japanese adults completed the PBI and the Inventory to Diagnose Depression, lifetime version. Associations of PBI scores with lifetime history of depression were explored by performing logistic regression analyses. The analyses were carried out using the original two PBI dimensions and the three new PBI dimensions validated in this sample.

Results: The results of the analyses using the three new dimensions did not differ markedly from those using the original two dimensions. Parental low care was always associated with having a lifetime history of depression. Analyses using the three new PBI dimensions provided some evidence that overprotective aspects of parenting may also be associated with a lifetime history of depression (a higher score on paternal denial of the psychological autonomy dimension predicted a lifetime history of depression in female subjects).

Limitations: Subjects were Japanese adults, which may limit the validity of the conclusion to Western cultures. Data regarding both child-rearing behavior and lifetime major depression were obtained by self-rating instruments, which also may have influenced the results.

Conclusion: Low parental care may be the most important factor associated with depression, even though the factor-analytically appropriate three PBI dimensions are used. Evidence for an association between overprotective aspects of child-rearing behavior and a lifetime history of depression can be newly recognized using the three new PBI dimensions.