Cardiff University | Prifysgol Caerdydd ORCA
Online Research @ Cardiff 
WelshClear Cookie - decide language by browser settings

Antenatal depression predicts depression in adolescent offspring: Prospective longitudinal community-based study

Pawlby, Susan, Hay, Dale F. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2505-0453, Sharp, Deborah, Waters, Cerith S. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7049-9906 and O'Keane, Veronica 2009. Antenatal depression predicts depression in adolescent offspring: Prospective longitudinal community-based study. Journal of Affective Disorders 113 (3) , pp. 236-243. 10.1016/j.jad.2008.05.018

Full text not available from this repository.

Abstract

Background Depression is familial. Evidence shows that untreated postnatal depression is associated with adverse outcomes for the child. Few studies have traced prospectively the course of maternal depression through pregnancy, the postnatal period and the following 16 years in relation to adolescent offspring depression. Method The sample was recruited from two general practice antenatal clinics. Of 151 mother–child dyads followed from pregnancy to 16 years, information on the course of maternal depression and on depression in adolescent offspring was available for 127 (84%). Results Two-thirds (82/125) of the women had been depressed during the 17-year time period, with the majority (54/82) experiencing more than one episode. A third of the women were depressed in pregnancy (41/124). Over half of these women (23/41) had consulted a doctor about their mental health prior to being pregnant and almost 90% (35/39) had further episodes during the child's lifetime. 14% (18/127) of the adolescent offspring were diagnosed with a depressive disorder at 16 years. Every depressed adolescent had been exposed to maternal depression. The risk of depression for the 16-year-olds exposed to antenatal depression was 4.7 times greater than for offspring not so exposed. The effect of antenatal depression was mediated by repeated exposure. Limitations The number of study participants is small and limited to an inner-city population. Only depression spectrum diagnoses in the adolescent offspring have been considered. Conclusions Detection of depression in pregnancy identifies mothers at risk of further depressive episodes and a group of children who are at risk of depression in adolescence.

Item Type: Article
Date Type: Publication
Status: Published
Schools: Psychology
Subjects: B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Uncontrolled Keywords: Adolescent depression; Antenatal depression; Prospective study
Publisher: Elsevier
ISSN: 0165-0327
Last Modified: 20 Oct 2022 09:06
URI: https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/30691

Citation Data

Cited 236 times in Scopus. View in Scopus. Powered By Scopus® Data

Actions (repository staff only)

Edit Item Edit Item