| ||||||
Children of Depressed Moms do Better When Dad is Involved |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
From Saint Louis University: Children whose mothers are depressed are less likely to develop problem behaviors if their fathers are actively engaged in family life, a Saint Louis University researcher finds. It is well documented that children living in homes with depressed mothers are at increased risk of developing problems such as aggression, hyperactivity, depression and anxiety. However, an involved father -- one who has a positive relationship with his children -- may reduce the risk of those behaviors. The 10-year, population-based study published in the July issue of the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, is the first to examine a father's role in a household with a depressed mother. "My study corroborates findings from previous research that a child is at increased risk of problem behaviors when the mother is depressed," said Jen Jen Chang, Ph.D., assistant professor of community health in epidemiology at the Saint Louis University School of Public Health and principal investigator. "I would advocate for health professionals to educate parents, specifically fathers, to be more involved with their children when their wives are diagnosed with depression. Her sister suffered from mental illness and Chang witnessed how difficult the illness was on her sister, her family and her sister's family. "Health care professionals must do a better job of screening for this debilitating and under-diagnosed illness." Chang next plans to study the effect of a mother's depression on a child's risk of substance abuse and whether a father's positive involvement in a child's life may reduce this risk.
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
