In a prospective birth cohort study of 5295 girls from the UK-based Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC), we examined the association between biological father absence in childhood and age at menarche whilst adjusting for antenatal indicators of socioeconomic disadvantage and maternal characteristics. We also examined whether exposure to maternal depression and financial pro...

BACKGROUND This study assessed the association between timing and course of maternal depression from pregnancy onwards and children's cognitive development at ages 5 to 6. Potential interaction effects with child sex and family socioeconomic status were explored. METHODS One thousand thirty-nine mother-child pairs from the French EDEN mother-child birth cohort were followed from 24 to 28 week...

PURPOSE To investigate whether premorbid maternal and childhood psychological problems are risk factors for chronic disabling fatigue at age 13 years among children in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children birth cohort. METHODS Chronic disabling fatigue was defined as fatigue of at least 3-month, and up to 5-year, duration that prevented school attendance or hobbies/sport/leisur...

BACKGROUND Early life stress has been demonstrated to increase the risk of developing depression in adulthood. However, the roles and associated molecular mechanisms of stresses in the onset and relapse of depression have yet to be fully elucidated. METHODS Depression-like behaviors were induced in rats by maternal deprivation and chronic unpredictable stress. Depression- and anxiety-like beh...

Infants as young as 3 months are able to detect depression in their mothers. Depressed mothers are sufficiently different from nondepressed mothers in affect and interaction that the social, emotional, and cognitive functioning of their infants are compromised. This article reviews current findings on the effects of maternal depression and psychiatric illness on infants. Pediatrics 1998;102:129...

Maternal depression has been linked to a variety of negative developmental outcomes for children. Using data from Waves I and III of The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this study used a three-generational model (child, mother, grandmother) to examine maternal depression as it relates to the quality of the mother-daughter relationship and children’s behaviors. The study found ...