TABLE 2.

General protective factors in early childhood in different domains, which may have a buffering effect on families where a parent has a mental disorder.

Parental domain	Family domain	Child domain	Environmental domain
Physical health1	Presence of a well-functioning other (step-) parent7,8	Physical health1	Stable and adequate income1,6,15
Self- and parental efficacy1,2,3	Warm, cohesive family interaction1	Easy temperament1,10,7	Adequate housing1
Good emotion and stress regulation1,4	Marital stability, support and satisfaction1,3,4,6,9	Insusceptible for environmental influences11	Safe neighborhood1,15,16
Effective coping skills1,2,4	Small family (<4 children)1	Secure attachment1,2,4,12,13,14	Social support (emotional/practical) 1,6,7,16,17
Internal locus of control1	Moderate or high level of education1,6		Involvement in the community1,6,15
Positive belief systems1,2,3	Supportive and stimulating parent-child interaction1,2,4		Access to good quality childcare and school1,4,6
Appropriate parental mentalization5/secure attachment6			Access to good quality (mental) health care1,6,7,16

¹Benzies and Mychasiuk, 2009; ²Doty et al., 2017; ³Korja et al., 2017; ⁴Masten, 2018; ⁵Slade et al., 2005; ⁶Tharner et al., 2012; ⁷Hosman et al., 2009; ⁸Stein et al., 2014; ⁹McEwen, 2003; ¹⁰Beardslee et al., 2011; ¹¹Bakermans-Kranenburg and van IJzendoorn, 2007; ¹²Seifer, 2003; ¹³McGoron et al., 2012; ¹⁴Schechter and Willheim, 2009; ¹⁵Silva et al., 2016; ¹⁶Brockington et al., 2011; ¹⁷Falkov, 2012.