Personality disorder (PD) symptoms in a parent generation may confer risk for problems in future generations, but intergenerational transmission has not been studied beyond parent–child effects. We examined the generational transfer of risk associated with PDs using structural models of grandparent personality pathology and grandchild psychopathology among 180 adults (mean age = 66.9 years), 218 of their children (mean age = 41.2 years), and 337 of their grandchildren (mean age = 10.5 years). We found evidence for general and heterotypic domain-specific transmission. Specifically, broad grandparent personality pathology was associated with broad grandchild psychopathology (b = 0.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [−0.01, 0.31]); at the domain level, grandparent internalizing personality pathology was associated with grandchild externalizing psychopathology (b = 0.06, 95% CI = [0.01, 0.12]). Neither association was significantly mediated by parental personality pathology. These findings indicate that personality pathology in one generation confers risk for psychopathology across subsequent generations. Such intergenerational transmission operates across broad rather than specific (i.e., individual disorder) psychopathology domains.

父母一代的人格障碍（PD）症状可能会给后代带来问题的风险，但除亲子效应外，代际传播尚未得到研究。我们使用祖父母人格病理学和孙子精神病理学的结构模型，在 180 名成年人（平均年龄 = 66.9 岁）、218 名其子女（平均年龄 = 41.2 岁）和 337 名孙辈（平均年龄 = 41.2 岁）中检查了与 PD 相关的风险代际转移。年龄 = 10.5 岁）。我们发现了一般和异型特定域传播的证据。具体来说，广义祖父母人格病理学与广义孙子精神病理学相关（ b = 0.15，95% 置信区间 [CI] = [−0.01, 0.31]）；在领域层面，祖父母内化人格病理与孙子外化精神病理学相关（ b = 0.06，95% CI = [0.01，0.12]）。这两种关联均不受父母人格病理学的显着介导。这些发现表明，一代人的人格病理会给后代带来精神病理学的风险。这种代际传播在广泛的而非特定的（即个体疾病）精神病理学领域中发挥作用。