There is a growing body of scientific literature which indicates that individuals with Agoraphobia are more likely than nonagoraphobics to have family members with anxiety and depression. This fits the common finding of depression in patients with diagnosed Anxiety Disorders and vice versa. People with Social Phobia, Blood-Injury Phobia, and—to a lesser degree—Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, also appear to carry and express a family vulnerability for anxiety and depression. Most blood-injury phobics have a close relative with the same problem.
If two parents have an anxiety or depressive disorder, the chance of a child developing either disorder is greater than if a single parent is troubled. This finding of graded involvement is compatible either with a genetic predisposition to the development of Anxiety Disorders or modeling by relatives (in that same way, being a police officer or a physician tends to run in families).
It is important to realize that many children with one or two parents with anxiety or depressive disorders will not develop either kind of disorder themselves. Although people without a family history of troublesome anxiety or depression are less likely to develop such problems themselves, they may still do so.
The mechanisms by which anxiety is transmitted in families remain unknown. It is now understood why some of those presumed to be vulnerable become symptomatic while other apparently similar individuals remain free of distress. Since several Anxiety Disorders can now be treated effectively, and others may not be severe enough to require treatment, the presence of a family history of Anxiety Disorders should not weigh heavily in decisions people make about marriage partners or having children.
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