Open AccessChildhood out-of-home care and current depressive symptoms among homeless adults.
Author(s) -
Daniel B. Herman,
Ezra Süsser,
Elmer L. Struening
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
american journal of public health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.284
H-Index - 264
eISSN - 1541-0048
pISSN - 0090-0036
DOI - 10.2105/ajph.84.11.1849
Subject(s) - confounding , depression (economics) , psychiatry , medicine , schizophrenia (object oriented programming) , depressive symptoms , multivariate analysis , mental health , clinical psychology , psychology , cognition , pathology , economics , macroeconomics
Previous research indicates that adverse childhood experiences are associated with depression during adulthood under conditions of social stress. This relationship was examined in a large sample of homeless adults (n = 1849). Subjects with evidence of severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia were excluded. Those with out-of-home care (e.g., foster, group, or institutional care) during childhood were significantly more likely than those without such care to report current severe depressive symptoms (CES-D score greater than or equal to 30). The finding, which held up in multivariate analysis when potential confounders were statistically controlled, supports the theory that certain developmental experiences are risk factors for subsequent depressive symptoms.