Depression Likely to Cause Difficulties in Parenting: Study

A latest study uncovers the association between depression and poor parenting. The study claims that people with depression may struggle with parenthood.

The study conducted by researchers at the University of Exeter states that symptoms of depression are likely to trigger difficulties with parenting. This new finding could promote effective interventions in order to prevent depression as well as other psychological disorders from being passed on from parent to child.

Studies conducted earlier have highlighted the link between depression and poor parenting but this is the first time researchers have brought together several studies in order to trace the factor that generates parenting difficulties.

According to the study, depressed parents may not be emotionally available to their kids due to this they develop a feeling of shame and guilt toward their role of parenting. Apart from this, memory problem, a symptom of depression, affects a parent's ability to place a goal for their kids at the right developmental stage.

Weeks after a kid is born, the interaction the mother has with her child leads to structural alterations in the brain that helps the mother to respond to the needs of her infant. Such changes can also occur in fathers. Those depressed parents who fail to have optimal and frequent interactions with their newborn infant,  may not develop the changes in the brain due to which parenting becomes difficult leading to a child with behavioral problems.

Dr Lamprini Psychogiou from the University of Exeter said in a press statement, "We have looked at a wide range of research studies and identified multiple factors that link depression in adults to difficulties in their parenting role. This work will help identify areas in which future research is necessary in order to develop interventions that will prevent mental health issues from being transmitted from one generation to the next. We hope that this will go some way towards helping both depressed parents and their children."

The study is published in the journal Psychological Medicine.