Early life family disadvantages and major depression in adulthood

There is now considerable evidence from population studies (Rodgers, 1990b; Kessler & Magee, 1993) and other cohort studies (Brown & Harris, 1993; Brown & Moran, 1994) that adults who have been exposed to adverse life events in middle or later childhood are at increased risk for adult depression.

Over the past decades there has been an impressive accumulation of evidence that poor maternal care in childhood (Parker, 1979; Perris et al, 1986; Birtchnell, 1988), unsatisfactory child/parent relationships (Abraharns & Whitlock, 1969), parental 'affectionless control' (Mackinnon et al, 1993), and parental marital problems or marital separation (Rodgers, 1994) are associated with an increased risk of suffering from depression in later life.