Depression during pregnancy linked to violence in children

A team of researchers from Cardiff University, King's College London, and the University of Bristol assessed the impact of depression during pregnancy by looking at 120 young people from the Bristol area.

The mothers were interviewed while they were pregnant, after they gave birth, and when their children were four, 11, and 16-years-old.

The findings, published in the journal Child Development, found that mothers who became depressed when pregnant were four times as likely to have children who were violent at 16.

The researchers found the link between depression in pregnancy and the children's violence couldn't be explained by other factors in the families' environments, such as social class, ethnicity, or family structure; the mothers' age, education, marital status, or IQ; or depression at other times in the children's lives.

"Much attention has been given to the effects of postnatal depression on young infants but depression during pregnancy may also affect the unborn child," said Dale Hay, professor of psychology at Cardiff University.

"Although it's not yet clear exactly how depression in pregnancy might set infants on a pathway toward increased antisocial behaviour, our findings suggest that women with a history of conduct problems who become depressed in pregnancy may be in special need of support."