Mom's depression can affect kid's IQ, study says
by Claudia Boyd-Barrett posted in Parenting
Here's another reason to seek help if you think you're suffering from depression: A new study suggests being depressed could hinder your child's brain development.
Researchers with the University of California San Diego School of Medicine studied almost 900 Chilean women and their children. Every five years, between ages 1 and 16, the researchers spent time observing the mothers, watching how affectionate and responsive they were to their children, and surveyed whether the moms provided age-appropriate learning materials such as toys and books to their kids.
The researchers also assessed the children's verbal IQ, and screened the moms for symptoms of depression.
On average, children whose moms were severely depressed scored lower on the IQ tests than children whose moms weren't depressed. The difference wasn't huge ? about half an IQ point ? but lead author Patricia East said that's enough to create a meaningful disparity in children's verbal skills and vocabulary. "Our study results show the long term consequences that a child can experience due to chronic maternal depression," she said in a statement.
The findings were published in the journal Child Development.
About 20 percent of the women who began the study depressed remained so for a long time, the study found.
The study wasn't a controlled experiment and doesn't prove maternal depression impacts children's IQ levels, only that the two may be associated. Author...
-------------------------------- |
|
Crate & Barrel Hampshire Cribs Recalled
30-04-2024 08:00 - (
moms )
COMPETITION: Win a 5-star Family Holiday in Limassol, Cyprus
27-04-2024 08:05 - (
moms )