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Depressive Symptoms in Young Adults: The Influences of the Early Home Environment and Early Educational Child Care
Author(s) -
McLaughlin Andrea E.,
Campbell Frances A.,
Pungello Elizabeth P.,
Skinner Martie
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2007.01030.x
Subject(s) - psychology , developmental psychology , depressive symptoms , child care , child development , clinical psychology , psychiatry , cognition , pediatrics , medicine
The relationship between depressive symptoms in young adults, the quality of the early home environment, and early educational child care was investigated in young adults randomly assigned to receive early childhood intervention in the Abecedarian study. Of the original 111 infants enrolled (98% African American), 104 participated in an age‐21 follow‐up. Those who had early treatment reported fewer depressive symptoms. The protective effects of the early childhood program were further supported by a significant home environment by treatment interaction. Negative effects of lower quality home environments on young adult depressive symptoms were almost entirely offset by preschool treatment, whereas depressive symptoms increased as the quality of the early home environment decreased for those in the control group.