Furious Seasons

May 11, 2006

It's Mom's Fault

Or more accurately her depression's fault that her kids are a mess, according to this study:

"UNC Psychiatrist Erin Malloy, M.D. explains, "Maternal depression can be a risk factor for a number of different types of disorders in kids." Those disorders include everything from depression and anxiety, to attention deficit disorder. Now, a study of 150 mothers and their children suggests treating mom's depression helps reduce those risks in youngsters and also those who do have problems."

Um, I am not completely buying this, although I know it's considered unholy to challenge any assertion researchers make about children. To me, this all sounds like a set-up fed to the media by a pharma company. Is my skepticism warranted?

The text of the news announcer's script includes: "Depression hurts a lot of people, not just the person who is depressed." The news station is located in Indiana. Eli Lilly is headquartered in Indiana. The company has an onoing television ad campaign called "Depression Hurts." The campaign promotes Cymbalta. On its website, the imagery is mostly of women and in one panel there is a scene of a depressed mom with concerned children hovering in the background. Cymbalta has serious side effects, including suicidality, as I've blabbed about recently.

Are there any connections here? Nah. Couldn't be.

Posted by Philip Dawdy at May 11, 2006 12:05 AM

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Comments

Yes, there are some suspicious connections but it doesn't make the point less valid. Mental illness in a parent, in my experience, is a risk factor. My evidence is purely anecdotal, but I've seen young (pre-kindergarten-aged) children whose parents have OCD develop the same or similar patterns because it's part of their socialization. It is behavior they see demonstrated and, in the shut-in world of a young child, seems normal because they have nothing to compare it to and no framework to evaluate that behavior in.

At older ages, a parent's behavior resulting from mental illness can result in significant stress in children, leading to anxiety, co-dependence and other issues that can take time to resolve.

Just a few thoughts.

Posted by: Puckett at May 11, 2006 10:11 AM