Abstract:
Objective:
To estimate the prevalence of current psychiatric disorders among children of mothers entering treatment for depression, to examine maternal predictors of child psychopathology among children of depressed mothers, and to determine consistency of findings with previous studies.
Method:
Mothers (N=82) with major depressive disorder (MDD) enrolled in a treatment study in Ottawa, Canada or New York City, and their eligible children (N=145) (aged 7–17) were assessed independently when the mother enrolled.
Results:
Forty-two percent of the children of depressed mothers had at least one current psychiatric diagnosis, including affective (15%), anxiety (19%), behavioral (23%) and/or substance use (2%) disorders. Forty percent of the children were rated as impaired by clinical assessors. Mothers’ comorbid anxiety disorders predicted the highest rates of current disorders in the child in both studies. The severity of the mother’s depression predicted behavioral problems in the child. The current and lifetime rates of psychiatric disorders in the children of depressed mothers were compared to rates found in a similar child study ancillary to Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Reduce Depression (STAR⁎D) from 7 United States sites. Both studies used similar diagnostic assessments. The rates of current psychiatric disorders in children in this study were consistent with STAR⁎D-Child findings.
Conclusion:
Given the high prevalence of offspring psychiatric disorders, inquiring about the mental health of the children when a depressed mother comes for treatment and referring children for treatment when appropriate is important.