A new study published in the September issue of the journal Pediatrics reaffirmsthat maternal depression is associated with lower mean reading, math, and general knowledge scores in their children - in addition to a significant negative impact on a child's interpersonal skills. But it also goes a step further.

Since domestic violence and maternal depression often co-exist within a family, the research team looked at what happens to children's outcomes when they live with both conditions.

They found: Among children with dual exposure to maternal depression and violence, decreases in mean scores for reading, mathematics, and general knowledge more than doubled in magnitude, compared with those among children exposed to either factor alone. In terms of behavior, children with dual exposure also had significantly lower scores for self-control.

Conclusions: "When coexistent within the same family, maternal depression and violence were associated with poorer cognitive abilities and more-concerning child behaviors than when each was present individually."

The study sample was drawn from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey, Kindergarten Cohort. The survey draws from a nationally representative sample of children who attended kindergarten in 1998 to 1999 and monitors the children through the fifth grade with regular face-to-face parent interviews, teacher surveys, and direct cognitive assessments. Depressive symptoms and exposure to violence among respondent biological mothers were assessed, as were child and family characteristics, school functioning, and child behavior. A total of
12,083 mother-child dyads participated.

For the abstract, click here.