Understanding how parents' genes and environment shape their children's mental health
Official title: Causes and consequences of mental disorders: The environmental and genetic influences of parents on offspring.
Funded at University of Colorado · NIH-11112351 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to understand how genetic and environmental factors passed down from parents influence mental health and other traits in children.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Colorado NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boulder, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | July 15, 2022 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $728,758 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MH130448-04 |
| Project ID | NIH-11112351 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
This foundational research does not directly involve patient participation but focuses on understanding genetic and environmental influences on children's traits, particularly those related to mental health.
✕Less likely to help
Patients seeking immediate clinical treatment or direct intervention for a specific condition would not receive benefit from this foundational research.
What this research studies
We are exploring how children inherit traits from their parents, focusing on mental health and behavior. This involves looking at both genetic information and the home environment children grow up in. Our team is developing new ways to use existing genetic data from large public databases to better understand these complex connections. By refining these methods, we hope to gain clearer insights into how parental influences contribute to a child's development.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could help us better understand the origins of mental health conditions in children, potentially leading to improved prevention strategies or earlier interventions.
How similar studies have gone: Traditional methods have provided some insights, but this project introduces a novel approach using polygenic scores to overcome limitations and expand data sources.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Colorado
Boulder, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Keller, Matthew Charles — University of Colorado
- Study coordinator: Keller, Matthew Charles
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
-
Causes and consequences of mental disorders: how parents shape their children
A parent-focused study uses genetic and environmental data to understand how parental traits influence children’s mental health and behavior.
-
Personalized chatbot to help community health workers deliver interpersonal counseling in Mozambique
A low-cost, chatbot-assisted program in Mozambique helps community health workers provide better interpersonal counseling for common mental disorders.
-
How parents' public work programs affect children's health and learning in LMICs
A study will look at how families' participation in government cash-for-work programs influences kids’ health, education, and well-being in several low- and middle-income countries.
-
Stepped mental health care within HIV services for Mozambican youth living with HIV
A new approach tests how to integrate mental health care into HIV services for young people living with HIV in Mozambique using a stepped-care model.
-
How parents' participation in public work programs may affect children's health and education in low- and middle-income countries
A study at Duke University will look at how families in poor countries who join public work programs might influence their children’s health, schooling, and well-being.
-
Building Community Health Workers’ Capacity to Support Parents with Young Children in Kenya
A project in Kenya trains and supports Community Health Workers to help parents of young children prevent and reduce risk factors for noncommunicable diseases.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.