Depressed mothers and their children (original) (raw)

Treatment of depressed mothers of depressed children: Pilot study of feasibility

Depression and Anxiety, 2004

Numerous studies have shown that depression is highly familial and impairing and that a history of depression in a parent is the strongest risk factor for depression in a child. Many of the parents in these studies have never received sustained treatment despite histories of recurrent depression. None of the studies have examined the effects of maternal symptom remission on offspring symptom or functioning. We sought to determine the feasibility of treating depressed mothers who brought an offspring for the treatment of depression and to examine the relationship between improved maternal depression and symptomatic improvement and social functioning in their offspring. Nine mothers bringing their offspring for treatment of depression, and who were evaluated and found to be currently depressed, completed a 12-week open trial of interpersonal psychotherapy. Mothers and their depressed offspring were assessed by independent evaluators at weeks 0, 6, and 12 for depressive symptomatology and social functioning. Although the rates of depression were high among the mothers, few eligible mothers agreed to participate. Of the 12 who entered treatment, 9 (75%) completed it. Mothers and offspring improved with regard to depressive symptomatology and global functioning over the course of the trial. Improvement in maternal depression was significantly associated with improvement in offspring functioning but not symptom reduction. Improvement of maternal depression may be associated with improved outcomes in depressed offspring. However, it is difficult to engage depressed mothers in treatment for themselves if they come to the clinic to bring their child for treatment of depression. It may be more feasible to study the effect of improved maternal depression on offspring by sampling depressed mothers coming for their own treatment and then assessing their children over the course of maternal treatment.

Depression in Mothers

Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 2007

Whether one takes a biological, psychological, or psychosocial perspective, depression in mothers raises concerns about risks for the development of psychopathology in the children. This review addresses the complexity of that risk and the essential role of development in a model that explains processes of transmission. This article addresses the following aims: (a) to provide convincing evidence that depression in mothers is an important topic for clinical psychologists; (b) to summarize current theoretical models of mechanisms of risk for the development of psychopathology in children of depressed mothers and the status of empirical support for those models; (c) to examine the theoretical bases and current status of evidence for moderators of this risk; (d) to argue for the advantages to be gained from a developmental psychopathology perspective on this topic; and (e) to point to future directions for theory, research, and practice.

Depressed Parents and Their Children

American Journal of Diseases of Children, 1986

\s=b\Two hundred twenty children (aged 6 to 23 years) from families with either depressed or normal (nonpsychiatrically III) parents of comparable sociodemographic backgrounds were studied. The children from families in which at least one parent had experienced a major depression were reported to have had more adverse perinatal events; were later in achieving some developmental landmarks; had more convulsions, head injuries, operations, and psychiatric disorders (particularly major depression); and made more suicide attempts. Overall, there were no significant differences in IQ between children in both groups. Mothers in families with a depressed parent reported more medical problems during pregnancy and labor, and the children were reported to have experienced more distress at birth. Since major depression is a highly prevalent disorder in women of childbearing ages, these findings have direct clinical implications for pediatricians. Their specificity for major depression, as contrasted with other psychiatric disorders or chronic Illnesses in the parents, requires further study. (AJDC 1986;140:801-805) Oeveral studies have demonstrated the impact of family disruption1'5 and life events6"8 on increased sus¬ ceptibility to a variety of illnesses in children. There have been a few stud¬ ies of the general medical and paranatal (ie, prenatal, perinatal, and postnatal) histories of depressed chil¬ dren and the children of depressed parents. In a study of the marital and family lives of depressed patients com¬ pared with matched normal controls,9

The Impact of Maternal Depression in Young Children

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1987

\n urban working class sample of depressed mothers with two-yr-old children was compared with a control group of non-depressed mothers using maternal interviews, home observation of mother/chUd interaction, and developmental assessment of the chUdren. Measures were repeated after six months. Children of depressed mothers showed more emotional and behavioural disturbance and delay in expressive language development. Depressed mothers had more past and current adverse experiences, particularly in close relationships. In general depressed mothers were less responsive to their children and less able to sustain social interaction: their children were more often distressed, but there was a big variation in quality of mother/child interaction within the depressed group.

Adjustment of children of depressed mothers: A 10-month follow-up

Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1991

There is considerable concern about the adjustment of children of depressed mothers. Earlier we studied the specificity of these difficulties to maternal depression. Child adjustment difficulties were evident in 7-to 13-year-old children of both depressed and nondepressed psychiatric patient mothers but not in the children of community mothers or nondepressed medical patient mothers . This report describes a 10-month follow-up of 44 of these subjects. Despite the alleviation of maternal depressive symptomatology, children in the 2 psychiatric groups continued to manifest adjustment difficulties that were evident to both clinicians and mothers. These findings suggest that the adjustment difficulties found in the children of psychologically distressed mothers do not abate within the 1st year after the mothers' recovery.