In a new study, scientists have discovered a grim link between repeated moves and the risk of depression in children.
According to research, people who moved frequently in childhood and early adolescence are more likely to suffer from depression in adulthood.
The study was published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry.
This new study from Denmark and England found that repeated childhood moves had a greater effect on mental health in adulthood than even childhood poverty.
Repeated moves increase the risk of depression regardless of income
Analyzing more than one million records for every person born in Denmark between 1982 and 2003, the researchers found that about 35,000 people (2.3%) were diagnosed with depression in adulthood.
Although those who grew up in poorer neighborhoods were more likely to be depressed in adulthood, the researchers found that, even after adjusting for other individual factors, people who moved more than once between the ages of 10 and 15 were 61% more likely to develop depression than those who did not move, notes Futurism.
“Even if you came from the poorest communities, not moving was good for your health,” explained Clive Sabel, lead author of the study and a geographer at Plymouth University (England).
Sabel said research with colleagues at Aarhus University (Denmark) and the University of Manchester (UK) also suggested a reversal of the same principle.
“Even if you came from a wealthy neighborhood but moved several times, the chances of depression were higher than if you hadn’t moved and came from the poorest neighborhoods,” he explained.
What is the reason behind this effect?
Even more surprising, the research suggested that even adults who moved from poorer to wealthier neighborhoods as children had a 13 percent higher risk of depression. In comparison, those who moved from wealthier to poorer neighborhoods as children were about 18 percent more likely to be depressed as adults, according to the research.
Although the article itself did not hypothesize about the effect, Sabel offered his own speculation.
“It’s a vulnerable age when kids need to take a break and recalibrate. We think our data points to something related to disruptions in childhood that we haven’t studied enough and don’t understand,” the geographer speculated.
However, Sabel insists that on one key point, the research is clear.
“The literature clearly indicates that stability in childhood, particularly in early childhood, is very, very important,” he said.
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Source: www.descopera.ro
