Elsevier

Journal of Affective Disorders

Volume 207, 1 January 2017, Pages 26-31
Journal of Affective Disorders

Research paper
The joint contribution of maternal history of early adversity and adulthood depression to socioeconomic status and potential relevance for offspring development

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.08.012Get rights and content

Highlights

  • A novel way of looking at socioeconomic status (SES) is proposed.

  • Maternal history of adversity interacts with prenatal depression to predict SES.

  • Presence of adversity and depression increases the risk of later low SES.

  • Low SES associates with increased risk for offspring behavioural symptoms.

Abstract

Background

We examined the interactive effects of maternal childhood adversity and later adulthood depression on subsequent socioeconomic status (SES).

Methods

Our community sample ranged from 230 to 243 mothers (across measures) drawn from a prospective, longitudinal cohort study. Maternal childhood adversity scores were derived using an integrated measure derived from the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ) and the Parental Bonding Index (PBI). Maternal depression was measured in the prenatal period with the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). SES measures included maternal highest level of education and family income as obtained prenatally.

Results

The analyses yielded significant interaction effects between maternal childhood adversity and prenatal depression that predicted income, prenatally. Women who reported higher levels of childhood adversity combined with higher levels of self-reported depressive symptoms were significantly more likely to live in low SES environments. Results also showed that level of education was predicted by childhood adversity independent of maternal symptoms of depression.

Conclusion

The results suggest that SES is influenced by a life course pathway that begins in childhood and includes adversity-related mental health outcomes. Since child health and development is influenced by both maternal mental health and SES, this pathway may also contribute to the intergenerational transmission of the risk for psychopathology in the offspring. The results also emphasize the importance of studying potential precursors of low SES, a well-documented environmental risk factor for poor developmental outcomes in the offspring.

Section snippets

. Introduction

Childhood adversity associates with increased risk for later adjustment problems. Childhood maltreatment, for example, predicts a greater risk for depression and anxiety disorders [e.g., (Fergusson et al., 2008, Heim and Nemeroff, 2001, Lansford et al., 2002, Thornberry et al., 2001, Trickett et al., 2001, Widom et al., 2007)]. The link between childhood adversity and depression was confirmed in a prospective cohort study (Widom et al., 2007). Childhood trauma also influences the severity and

Participants and procedures

Our community sample ranged from 230 to 243 mothers, across measures, recruited in Montréal (Québec) and Hamilton (Ontario) at 13–20 weeks gestation from prenatal care clinics at the time of routine ultrasound or through advertisements at hospitals. This group of women (Table 1) constitute a portion of a larger population of mother-child dyads that were part of a longitudinal cohort study (Maternal Adversity, Vulnerability and Neurodevelopment; MAVAN; (O'Donnell et al., 2014)). Eligibility

Results

Analyses yielded a significant interaction between maternal history of early adversity and maternal symptoms of prenatal depression to predict low family income category as assessed prenatally (OR=1.078; p=.002; model χ2(3)=24.432; p<0.001). In the 27 mothers with high levels of both, history of early adversity (score>mean) and clinically relevant symptoms of prenatal depression (score ≥16), 15 had an income below the cut-off for low family income category (55.56%) versus 12 who were above the

Discussion

We examined the contributions of both maternal history of early adversity and maternal symptoms of prenatal depression in prediction of (prenatal) SES. Consistent with our hypotheses, our results showed that higher levels of maternal self-reported depressive symptoms moderated the effects of childhood adversity, such that mothers who reported elevated levels of both adversity and depression were more likely to live with disadvantaged SES as indicated by low family income. These interactive

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