Depression in moms bad news for their children

William Atkins
Saturday, 18 October 2008 19:43

Science - Health

Depressed mothers, whether they have natural or adopted children, increase the risk of depression in their children, according to a U.S. study. It's not all in the genes.


American psychologist Erin Tully, of the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis), led the study that was written up in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

The authors goal was to "investigate environmental influences on risk for psychopathology in adolescents with depressed parents."

The AJP article by the Tully team is called "An Adoption Study of Parental Depression as an Environmental Liability for Adolescent Depression and Childhood Disruptive Disorders." Its authors are Erin C. Tully, William G. Iacono, and Matt McGue.

Whether Mom passes her genes on to her naturally born children or raises adopted children, the Tully-led research found first-time evidence that simply living with a depressed mother can pass those emotions “environmentally” on to her children.

Besides more likely passing on depression, depressed moms are also more likely to pass on other behavior problems to their children.

Tully and her colleagues studied 568 adopted adolescents from mostly Asian countries and 416 non-adopted adolescent children from Minnesota in the United States.

Page two continues the background from the study, and its results.