Moderators of Child Outcome in Families With Depressed Mothers and Fathers

Background. There is a large literature indicating that the offspring of mothers with Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) are at increased risk for depression. However, much less is known about the effects of paternal MDD on offspring psychopathology.Method. We addressed this issue using a large community sample of parents and their adolescent and young adult offspring (n=775). Parents and offspring were independently assessed with semi-structured diagnostic interviews. Offspring were interviewed three times from mid-adolescence to age 24 years.Results. Maternal MDD was significantly associated with offspring MDD. Paternal MDD was also significantly associated with MDD in offspring, but only among offspring with depressive episodes of moderate or greater severity. These effects persisted after controlling for socio-economic status, family intactness, and non-mood disorders in both parents. Rates of MDD were particularly elevated in offspring of mothers and fathers with early-onset MDD, and offspring of fathers with recurrent MDD. The magnitude of the associations between MDD in parents and offspring was generally in the small-to-medium range.Conclusions. These results confirm previous findings of elevated risk of MDD in the offspring of depressed mothers. In addition, the results suggest that MDD in fathers is associated with increased risk of depression in offspring, but that it is limited to MDD episodes in offspring of moderate or greater severity.

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Parenthood in the context of maternal depression at the end of the infant's first year of life

Estudos de Psicologia (Campinas) ◽

10.1590/0103-166x2014000200006 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 31 (2) ◽

pp. 203-214 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Cesar Augusto Piccinini ◽

Giana Bitencourt Frizzo ◽

Ivani Brys ◽

Rita de Cássia Sobreira Lopes

Keyword(s):

Content Analysis ◽

Child Care ◽

Maternal Depression ◽

Beck Depression Inventory ◽

Qualitative Content Analysis ◽

First Year ◽

Mothers And Fathers ◽

Depressed Mothers ◽

First Year Of Life ◽

Socioeconomic Levels

The present study investigated parenthood in the context of maternal depression, at the end of the first year of the infant's life. The participants of the study were 22 families, from different socioeconomic levels, divided into two groups, one with mothers who did not present indicators of depression (n=12) and another group with mothers who did (n=10), based on the Beck Depression Inventory. All the mothers were primiparous and lived with the child's father, the babies were approximately 12 months of age. The mothers and fathers participated in an interview that investigated several parenting aspects. Qualitative content analysis of the interviews indicated that, compared to the group without depression, the depressed mothers, as well as their husbands, reported more difficulties regarding division tasks, financial concerns, and divergences and conflicts in child care. These results corroborate other studies which emphasized that the presence of indicators of maternal depression can cause difficulties in parenting.

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Children of Depressed Mothers: From Early Childhood to Maturity. By M. Radke-Yarrow. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1998. pp. 216. £27.95 (hb).

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry ◽

10.1017/s0021963001216953 ◽

2001 ◽

Vol 42 (4) ◽

pp. 557-558

Author(s):

Tirril O. Harris

Keyword(s):

Early Childhood ◽

Cambridge University ◽

Depressed Mothers

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Perception of Autonomy and Connectedness Prior to the Onset of Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa

Zeitschrift für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie und Psychotherapie ◽

10.1024/1422-4917/a000150 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 40 (1) ◽

pp. 61-68 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Julia Huemer ◽

Maria Haidvogl ◽

Fritz Mattejat ◽

Gudrun Wagner ◽

Gerald Nobis ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Anorexia Nervosa ◽

Risk Factor ◽

Bulimia Nervosa ◽

Family Environment ◽

Significant Influence ◽

Diagnostic Interview ◽

Individual Autonomy ◽

Mothers And Fathers ◽

Image Test ◽

Restrictive Type

Objective: This study examines retrospective correlates of nonshared family environment prior to onset of disease, by means of multiple familial informants, among anorexia and bulimia nervosa patients. Methods: A total of 332 participants was included (anorexia nervosa, restrictive type (AN-R): n = 41 plus families); bulimic patients (anorexia nervosa, binge-purging type; bulimia nervosa: n = 59 plus families). The EATAET Lifetime Diagnostic Interview was used to establish the diagnosis; the Subjective Family Image Test was used to derive emotional connectedness (EC) and individual autonomy (IA). Results: Bulimic and AN-R patients perceived significantly lower EC prior to onset of disease compared to their healthy sisters. Bulimic patients perceived significantly lower EC prior to onset of disease compared to AN-R patients and compared to their mothers and fathers. A low family sum – sister pairs sum comparison – of EC had a significant influence on the risk of developing bulimia nervosa. Contrary to expectations, AN-R patients did not perceive significantly lower levels of IA compared to their sisters, prior to onset of disease. Findings of low IA in currently ill AN-R patients may represent a disease consequence, not a risk factor. Conclusions: Developmental child psychiatrists should direct their attention to disturbances of EC, which may be present prior to the onset of the disease.

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