MedPage Today (12/22, Walker) reports that according to a study published online in the journal Pediatrics, teens appear to be “more likely to engage in substance use and risky behavior if they were exposed to symptoms of maternal depression during their middle childhood years.” The study, which involved “2,910 mother-youth pairs,” revealed that “adolescents who had been exposed to ‘high symptoms’ of maternal depression from ages four to eight, and ‘decreasing symptoms’ as they got older were more likely to engage in ‘nonviolent delinquent behaviors’ (P=0.03) as teenagers than adolescents exposed to a ‘lower level of maternal depressive symptoms.’” Such behaviors could include staying out all night, destroying property or “running away.”
Related Links:
— “Do Depressed Moms Predispose Kids to Behavorial Problems?,” Molly Walker, MedPage Today, December 22, 2014.