Young children whose mothers suffer from Depression are at greater risk of serious behavioral problems, and both “nurture” and “nature” seem to play a role, according to a new study.

Among more than 1,100 pairs of twins followed by UK researchers, those whose mothers developed Depression after the birth were more likely than other children to show antisocial behavior - including lying, stealing and physical aggression - by the time they were 7 years old.

The risk was greatest among children whose mothers had both depression and a history of antisocial behavior themselves, according to findings published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Some of the risk seen in the children could be explained by genes - that is, some children of depressed mothers may have inherited a predisposition to behavioral problems. But a mother’s depression in and of itself was also a strong risk factor, the study found.

“Our findings provide evidence suggesting that ‘nature’ alone does not explain the whole story,” lead author Dr. Julia Kim-Cohen told Reuters Health. “This means that when a mother is depressed, her child may engage in misconduct, in part, because of disruptions to the family environment.”

A mother who is seriously depressed, she explained, may have trouble just getting out of bed and taking care of herself, let alone a young child. A child may “act out” partially as a response to this.

The “good news,” said Kim-Cohen, who is with the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London, is that depression is treatable with medication, counseling or both, and this may in turn benefit children.

Care does, however, become more complicated if a mother has both depression and a history of antisocial symptoms, as some women in this study did.

It’s likely, according to Kim-Cohen, that these women are dealing with multiple problems, including financial difficulties, single motherhood and a lack of support from family and friends.

“Treating her depression may be a good start,” the researcher noted, “but to reduce her child’s antisocial behavior, treatment should also include her child to modify his or her behavior, and to help the mother apply effective and consistent behavior management strategies.”

The study included 1,116 pairs of twins who were assessed at ages 5 and 7 for antisocial behavior, such as lying, stealing, physically attacking others and displaying a “hot temper.” Mothers were screened for depression when their children were 5 years old, and the researchers collected information on mothers’ and fathers’ history of antisocial symptoms - such as violence, run-ins with the law, and reckless or irresponsible behavior.

Overall, about one-quarter of the women suffered from major depression during their children’s first 5 years of life. These children were more likely than their peers to show antisocial behavioral problems by the age of 7.

Parents’ history of their own antisocial behavior appeared to explain a substantial share of the relationship between maternal depression and children’s behavioral problems - pointing to some “genetic transmission” of risk, according to Kim-Cohen and her colleagues.

However, a mother’s depression alone was still key in her children’s risk of antisocial symptoms.

The researchers suggest that doctors who treat children with these problems also consider screening mothers for depression and a history of antisocial symptoms.

SOURCE: Archives of General Psychiatry, February 2005.