YOUNG MOTHERS' MARITAL STATUS, NOT AGE, LINKED TO LATER DEPRESSION

Release Date: Nov. 20, 2002

YOUNG MOTHERS' MARITAL STATUS, NOT AGE, LINKED TO LATER DEPRESSION

---

The age a mother first gives birth may be less relevant to her chance of later-life depression than her marital status, according to new research showing that unmarried teenage mothers and unmarried adult mothers have similar levels of depressive symptoms in their late 20s.

The study also found that living in a female-headed family at age 14, living with a stepfather at age 14, having low self-esteem in mid-adolescence and having poor verbal and math skills predicted depressive symptoms in young adulthood.

The study was conducted by Ariel Kalil, Ph.D., of the University of Chicago's Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies and James Kunz, Ph.D., of the University of Maryland's School of Social Work and published in the November-December issue of Child Development.

They looked at data gathered in interviews with 990 women who took part in the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth between 1979 and 1992. Each woman answered questions that measured depressive symptoms, such as feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, loneliness, loss of appetite, restless sleep and concentration problems.