One path through which parental depression increases risk in offspring is exposure to stress in the family environment associated with parents’ depressive symptoms. Youth living with a depressed parent experience increased stress in their environment, driven by the unpredictability in interactions with their parent, and this stress is associated with increased internalizing problems in youth (Goodman and Gotlib 1999). In parent–child interactions, depressed parents’ behavior is characterized by withdrawal and intrusiveness, as well as low rates of positive parenting behaviors (Lovejoy et al. 2000). Depressed parents vacillate between these two patterns, contributing to a negative and unpredictable family environment (e.g., Jaser et al. 2005). Furthermore, parental depression is associated with increased interparental conflict and marital discord (e.g., Hammen et al. 2004). Parental withdrawal, intrusiveness, and interparental conflict are related to increased symptoms of mixed anxiety/depression in offspring of depressed parents (e.g., Fear et al. 2009; Jaser et al. 2005); however, distinct measures of anxiety and depression symptoms have not been examined in these studies. Evidence demonstrating associations between stress related to parental depression and symptoms of anxiety and depression in
