LONDON (Dispatches) -- Scientists report that children who live with a parent who has depression are more likely to develop depression and to not achieve educational milestones.
A new study by Sinead Brophy of Swansea University, UK, and colleagues used data from the Secure Anonymised Information Linkage (SAIL) databank assembled as part of the Born in Wales Study funded by the Welsh Government. Information on children born in Wales from 1987 to 2018, as well as their mothers and fathers -- or stable, adult male figure in the same household -- was used in the study. Both parental and child diagnosis of depression was attained from general practitioner records in the SAIL databank.
The authors of the study said that children who lived with a parent (mum or dad) who had depression were more likely to also develop depression and not achieve as well in school, compared to children who lived with a parent with treated depression. They also said that working with families and treating parental depression (in dads as well as mums) was likely to have long-term benefits for children’s mental health and educational attainment. They believe it has never been more important than after lockdown and COVID, as depression is contagious too.
The authors conclude that the impact of paternal depression requires more attention than has previously been given, and suggest that holistic approaches to whole family wellbeing and depression will help ensure positive outcomes for children.