Children with depressed moms are significantly more likely to show antisocial behaviour at age 5 and 7 years, says a report from the issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry. That's more reason for mothers to seek treatment for depression, say the researchers, who included Julia Kim-Cohen, PhD, of King's College London.
Depression is common, striking almost 19 million U.S. adults annually. Women experience depression about twice as often as men, and it's not uncommon for women to be affected after becoming mothers.
Effective depression treatments are available. Judging by the study's findings, mothers seeking help for depression wouldn't just improve their own lives. They might also see a positive impact on their children's behaviour.
"For some depressed mothers, effective treatment for depression should lead to secondary benefits for their children," write the researchers.
Another study included that nearly 900 Australian mothers and 978 of their children. Levels of depression were examined in the mothers before, during and after pregnancy. The investigators also analysed their children's development and behaviour.
One in five of the women experienced depression once, while 11% experienced it more than once. The length of a mother's depression had a greater impact on her child than when depression occurred, according to the researchers at the University of Queensland, Australia.
"The longer a mother suffered maternal depression, the worse the outcomes for the child," study author Katrina Moss said in a university news release. She's a research officer in the School of Public Health.
A Significant Challenge
"Mothers may worry that if they've been depressed during pregnancy then it's too late to do anything about it but reducing depressive symptoms at any stage is better for them and their children," she explained. "The earlier we can effectively detect and treat maternal depression, the better our chances of improving outcomes," Moss said.
Screening for depression could start when couples begin planning a pregnancy and continue through early childhood, she suggested.
"Maternal depression is a significant challenge for women, families and communities, and we need to look after women better at key times in their lives," Moss said.
Women who develop depression should visit their family doctor and find supportive parent resources, she advised.
Probing Depression's Family Ties
It's hard to say what makes children misbehave. The researchers knew that kids of depressed mothers often have behaviour problems, but they didn't know why.
Was it because depression decreased their mothers energy, making parenting tougher? Or did some depressed mothers also have antisocial personality traits that influenced kids' behaviour? Did depressed moms pass on a genetic liability for antisocial behaviour?
Those were among the theories explored in the study. Data came from more than 1,100 sets of British twins and their mothers.
The mothers were about 33 years old at the study's start. They were asked if they'd ever had depression, and about their kids' behaviour. The children's teachers were also interviewed for another perspective on the kids' conduct.
Most of the moms (728) said they had never been depressed. The rest were asked when their depression occurred. For 68 women, depression happened only before the birth of their twins. For 193, depression started after their twins were born. Another 124 women were depressed both before and after giving birth to their twins.
The mothers were also asked about their own behaviour and that of the twins' biological fathers. Questions covered antisocial traits like recklessness, irresponsibility, illegal behaviour, impulsivity, aggressiveness, and deceitfulness.
Kids' antisocial behaviour included lying, swearing, stealing, physically attacking someone, and having a hot temper. Such conduct was significantly more common at age 7 when children's mothers had suffered depression during the child's first five years of life.
The connection was only significant for depression that was present after the birth of the twins. Maternal depression ending at or before the twins' birth didn't affect kids' behaviour. The worst effect occurred when mothers were depressed and showed signs of antisocial behaviour. Having more bouts of maternal depression made kids' antisocial behaviour more likely. The kids' genes don't fully explain the link, say the researchers. They didn't have access to the fathers' depression history, but they estimate that parents' genes only accounted for about a third of the connection between maternal depression and kids' antisocial behaviour. Women with depression and antisocial traits may need extra help, say the researchers. They suggest that clinicians treating behaviour disorders in children might want to screen the children's mothers for depression and antisocial history, designing solutions that include the whole family. Sources:
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