October 22, 2008

Children of Mothers with Depression: A Look at the Effects of Treatment and Remission

Principal Investigator: Judy Garber, PhD

Children with depressed mothers are at high risk for behavior, anxiety and depressive disorders (Pilowsky, et al, 2006). This study looked at 151 mother-child pairs across the U.S., and found that improvement in maternal depression is associated with better outcomes in their children. (Weissman, et al, 2006).

Centerstone was one of 17 different clinics to take part in this study. Before treatment began, all mothers had depression, and 35% of their children (age 7-17) had a diagnosis of a behavioral disorder, anxiety or depressive disorder. This study found that when the mother’s depression went into remission, 33% of the children who had a diagnosis also improved, whereas if the mother’s depression did not remit, 17% of the children who didn’t have a diagnosis when the study began had one diagnosed at the three-month evaluation (Weissman, et al, 2006).

Behavioral, depressive and anxiety disorders with onset during childhood, can get more severe as the child ages if they are not successfully treated. Children with behavioral disorders like Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD) and Conduct Disorder (CD) are at a higher risk of being expelled from school, going to jail and committing suicide (Shaffer et al., 1996; Weiner, 1997). These realities and the results of this study highlight the importance of considering all family members when addressing depression.  

References
Shaffer, D., Fisher, P., Dulcan, M., Davies, M., Piacentini, J., Schwab-Stone, M., Lahey, B., Bourdon, K., Jensen, P., Bird, H., & Canino, G. R. D. (1996). The second version of the NIMH Diagnostic Interview Schedule for Children (DISC–2). Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 865–877.

Weiner, J. M. (1997). Oppositional defiant disorder. In J. M. Weiner (Ed.), Textbook of child and adolescent psychiatry (2nd ed., pp. 459–463). Washington, DC: American

Weissman, M.M., Pilowsky, D.J., Wickramaratne, P.J., Talati, A., Wisniewski, S.R., Fava, M., Hughes, C.W., Garber, J., Malloy, E., King, C.A., Cerda, G., Bela Sood, A., Alpert, J.E., Trivedi, M. H., & Rush, A.J. (2006). Remissions in maternal depression and child psychopathology: A STAR*D-Child report. Journal
of the American Medical Association, 295, 1389-1398.