Depression may worsen over time in addiction-prone women
Depression symptoms rise over time for women in their 30s and 40s who are prone to addiction problems and anti-social behaviour.
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Depression symptoms rise over time for women in their 30s and 40s who are prone to addiction problems and anti-social behaviour.
To examine how personal history, family life and neighbourhood instability influence alcoholism symptoms, antisocial behaviour and depression in women, researchers followed 273 adult women and their families over a 12-year period during their early years of marriage and motherhood. The participants lived in the U.S. Midwest and were part of an ongoing project focusing on families at high risk for substance abuse and associated disorders that have already collected more than 20 years worth of data.
While alcohol problems and anti-social behaviour declined over time, depression symptoms rose among the women. It was found that the women's partner's and children's problems also had an effect on them. For example, women's symptoms and behaviours worsened if their partner also struggled with addiction and anti-social behaviour, such as trouble with the law. And negative behaviours in their children, such as acting out and getting into trouble, tended to increase the mothers' alcohol problems and anti-social behaviour. In addition, the mothers' depression increased when children were sad, withdrawn or isolated. Women's alcoholism and depression levels were higher if they lived in an unstable neighbourhood, where residents frequently moved in and out.
The findings demonstrate the complexity of the factors affecting changes in alcohol problems, anti-social behaviour and depression for these women. The study results challenge common notions that depression, alcoholism and antisocial behavior, are either just genetic disorders, or alternatively, that they are caused by environmental factors. It's really the network of these relationships -- at the biological, social and at the community level -- that influences these disorders over time. Based on these findings, interventions for women with young children might have the most impact if they improve social supports, educational opportunities, access to family counseling and neighborhoods environments.
To examine how personal history, family life and neighbourhood instability influence alcoholism symptoms, antisocial behaviour and depression in women, researchers followed 273 adult women and their families over a 12-year period during their early years of marriage and motherhood. The participants lived in the U.S. Midwest and were part of an ongoing project focusing on families at high risk for substance abuse and associated disorders that have already collected more than 20 years worth of data.
While alcohol problems and anti-social behaviour declined over time, depression symptoms rose among the women. It was found that the women's partner's and children's problems also had an effect on them. For example, women's symptoms and behaviours worsened if their partner also struggled with addiction and anti-social behaviour, such as trouble with the law. And negative behaviours in their children, such as acting out and getting into trouble, tended to increase the mothers' alcohol problems and anti-social behaviour. In addition, the mothers' depression increased when children were sad, withdrawn or isolated. Women's alcoholism and depression levels were higher if they lived in an unstable neighbourhood, where residents frequently moved in and out.
The findings demonstrate the complexity of the factors affecting changes in alcohol problems, anti-social behaviour and depression for these women. The study results challenge common notions that depression, alcoholism and antisocial behavior, are either just genetic disorders, or alternatively, that they are caused by environmental factors. It's really the network of these relationships -- at the biological, social and at the community level -- that influences these disorders over time. Based on these findings, interventions for women with young children might have the most impact if they improve social supports, educational opportunities, access to family counseling and neighborhoods environments.
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