The Issue: The effects of depression are not limited to the individual diagnosed with it: families, friends, and co-workers are all affected by the symptoms.  The children of parents with depression probably suffer the most, especially if they are young and in need of a lot of care and attention.

Infants and toddlers need a parent to tell them that they are loved and how successful they are in learning new skills.  The depressed parent may be too unhappy to be able to give the affection and encouragement the child needs, or may be unable to remain calm when the child cries or tantrums.  In the first scenario, the mother may not have the energy or will to be able to respond sensitively to her child’s needs; in the second she may be too irritable to do so.  In either case, the child’s development and, ultimately, the child’s mental health can be hampered.

The Research: This study looked at whether effective treatment with medication of women with major depression would produce a therapeutic effect on their children who were at risk for, or already, showing behavioural or mood problems themselves.

The study involved 151 children between the ages of 7 and 17 years from across the United States.  They were assessed by a team of evaluators not involved in the mothers’ treatment and who were unaware of the mothers’ outcomes.

The Results: This study showed strong evidence that the children whose depressed mothers responded  to treatment also showed recovery from, or reduction of, their own symptoms of depression, anxiety, and disruptive behaviours.  The rate of their recovery was directly related to how well their mothers did in treatment.

Children who were well at the beginning of the study and whose depressed mothers recovered were less likely to develop a psychiatric disorder than those whose mothers did not recover.

This is important because there are good, readily available treatments for adults with depression, and treating them reduces the likelihood that their children will suffer from conditions that disrupt their development and have long-term effects on their future schooling and personal relationships.

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The preceding is a summary of: Weissman MM, Pilowsky DJ, Wickramaratne PJ, Talati A, Wisniewski SR, Fava M, et al. Remissions in Maternal Depression and Child Psychopathology. JAMA 2006, 295(12): 1389-1398.