Depression and thoughts of death among disadvantaged mothers: risk factors and impact on maternal and child health
Crandall, M.; Sridharan, L.; Schermer, C.
Archives of Suicide Research Official Journal of the International Academy for Suicide Research 14(3): 248-260
2010
ISSN/ISBN: 1381-1118 PMID: 20658378 DOI: 10.1080/13811118.2010.494143Document Number: 313228
Our hypothesess were that modifiable societal risk factors would contribute to depression and thoughts of death (DTD) and that DTD would affect maternal and infant well-being. Retrospective database analysis with bivariate and multivariate statistics utilizing 3 years of data from the prospective Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Eight hundred and eighty mothers (18%) were clinically depressed; of these, 286 (33%) reported thoughts of death. DTD were significantly associated with family violence and alcohol use; a combination of DTD with family violence or maternal alcohol use markedly increased the risk of infant hospitalization (p-value < 0.001). The association of DTD with problems of violence, substance abuse, and health outcomes underscores the complex relationships among these risk factors. Routine screening for these issues should be implemented.