NCJ Number
212837
Journal
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Volume: 45 Issue: 2 Dated: February 2006 Pages: 223-230
Date Published
February 2006
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This study examined maternal and child data from gestation, 18 months, and 3 and 6 years to explore predictors and correlates of depression and anxiety (D/A) among children aged 10 years.
Abstract
Results indicated that across all study phases, the factors that predicted symptoms of D/A at age 10 years were lower child intelligence, greater household density during pregnancy, attention problems, early childhood injuries, and prenatal marijuana exposure. Other results revealed that the prenatal factors of maternal depression symptoms, African-American race, less social support, greater household density, and prenatal marijuana exposure predicted D/A symptoms at age 10 years. For the period 18 months to 3 years, the following factors predicted D/A symptoms at age 10 years: lower child intelligence, child injuries at age 3 years, and attention problems. In the final model that incorporated all study phases, maternal psychological and sociodemographic factors were not significantly related to child D/A at age 10 years. Participants were 636 mother-child dyads recruited sequentially from a prenatal clinic who were assessed using cognitive, psychological, sociodemographic, and environmental measures from the fourth prenatal month through the child’s 10th year. Clinical implications of the findings suggest that prevention and intervention programs should target the predictive factors of childhood depression and anxiety in order to reduce risk among children. Tables, references