BACKGROUND: There is evidence that exposure to social and family disadvantages in childhood are a risk factor for adult depression. AIMS: To explore the effects of multiple adversity in early childhood on adult depression, and the relative effects of the different adversities. METHOD: This study utilises data from the Newcastle Thousand Family Study. Information on childhood disadvantages was collected when the participants were 5 years old, and information on mental health was gathered when they were 33 years old. Mental health data were scrutinised blind to the evidence of early disadvantage, and best-estimate diagnoses of major depressive disorder were made according to DSM-III-R criteria. RESULTS: Multiple family disadvantages in childhood substantially increase the risk of suffering a major depressive disorder in adulthood. Such disadvantages include family or marital relationship instability, a combination of poor mothering and poor physical care, and a combination of dependence on social welfare and overcrowding. For females major depression was linked in particular to the quality of parenting in early life. CONCLUSIONS: Social and family (especially multiple family) disadvantages during childhood predispose individuals to an increased risk of major depression in adulthood.
BACKGROUND: There is evidence that exposure to social and family disadvantages in childhood are a risk factor for adult depression. AIMS: To explore the effects of multiple adversity in early childhood on adult depression, and the relative effects of the different adversities. METHOD: This study utilises data from the Newcastle Thousand Family Study. Information on childhood disadvantages was collected when the participants were 5 years old, and information on mental health was gathered when they were 33 years old. Mental health data were scrutinised blind to the evidence of early disadvantage, and best-estimate diagnoses of major depressive disorder were made according to DSM-III-R criteria. RESULTS: Multiple family disadvantages in childhood substantially increase the risk of suffering a major depressive disorder in adulthood. Such disadvantages include family or marital relationship instability, a combination of poor mothering and poor physical care, and a combination of dependence on social welfare and overcrowding. For females major depression was linked in particular to the quality of parenting in early life. CONCLUSIONS: Social and family (especially multiple family) disadvantages during childhood predispose individuals to an increased risk of major depression in adulthood.
Authors: Xiao-Dong Wang; Gerhard Rammes; Igor Kraev; Miriam Wolf; Claudia Liebl; Sebastian H Scharf; Courtney J Rice; Wolfgang Wurst; Florian Holsboer; Jan M Deussing; Tallie Z Baram; Michael G Stewart; Marianne B Müller; Mathias V Schmidt Journal: J Neurosci Date: 2011-09-21 Impact factor: 6.167
Authors: Katie A McLaughlin; Joshua Breslau; Jennifer Greif Green; Matthew D Lakoma; Nancy A Sampson; Alan M Zaslavsky; Ronald C Kessler Journal: Soc Sci Med Date: 2011-07-12 Impact factor: 4.634