Citation

Cho S, Kim EJ, Lim K, Lee J, Shin Y. Community Ment. Health J. 2015; 51(3): 354-358.

Affiliation

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Ajou University School of Medicine, San 5, Wonchon-dong, Yeongtong-gu, Suwon, 443-721, Republic of Korea.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2015, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10597-014-9824-6

PMID

25566948

Abstract

Depression is a common disorder among women with young children. Compared to non-depressed mothers, depressed mothers tend to display less positive affection, provide less emotional support, and inconsistently respond to their child's every day and emotional needs. We examined the association between maternal depression and child (middle childhood) mental health problems according to the child's gender. This study was conducted between June and August 2006 on 3,911 subjects aged 7-12 years. The data for this study was collected through a questionnaire that included the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Korean Child Behavior Checklist (K-CBCL). Most of the CBCL scores were higher for children in the depressed mother group. The two way ANOVAs (depressed group by gender) found girls to have significantly higher scores than boys on somatization. Children may experience somatic complaints when they also suffer from emotional disorders, and therefore must be observed closely.

Language: en