NCJ Number
216960
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 46 Issue: 1 Dated: January 2007 Pages: 15-24
Date Published
January 2007
Length
10 pages
Annotation
This study examined predictors of school dropout and adolescent sexual behavior in offspring of depressed and non-depressed mothers and explored potential factors of the relation between maternal depression and these outcomes.
Abstract
Substance use disorders before ninth grade significantly predicted higher rates of both school dropout and adolescent sexual behavior. Lower levels of mother’s educational attainment and higher rates of adolescent’s externalizing behaviors in grades six through eight predicted higher school dropout. Higher IQ was associated with a lower likelihood of dropping out among offspring of never or moderately depressed mothers, but not for offspring of chronic/severely depressed mothers. Among offspring of never or moderately depressed mothers, the presence of a male head of household was associated with lower rates of adolescent sexual behavior, but not among offspring of chronically/severely depressed mothers. Research has shown that offspring of depressed parents are at increased risk of developing a range of negative outcomes and psychiatric diagnoses compared with children of parents without a psychiatric history. This study examined whether maternal depression was associated with an increased risk of dropping out of high school or engaging in sexual intercourse by age 18. Study participants consisted of 240 mothers and adolescents assessed annually from 6th through 12th grade. Tables, figures, and references