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Young maternal age and depressive symptoms: results from the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey.

L W Deal and V L Holt

Maternal and Child Health Program, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle 98195-7230, USA.

OBJECTIVES: The goal of this study was to provide population-based estimates of the prevalence of depressive symptoms among primiparous US adolescent mothers. METHODS: Data from the live-birth component of the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey were analyzed. RESULTS: The prevalence of depressive symptoms varied by age and race, from 14% among White adult mothers to 48% among Black mothers 15 to 17 years old. After control for income and marital status, the increased prevalence of depressive symptoms associated with adolescent motherhood was greatly diminished (for 15- to 17-year-old Black women and 18- to 19-year-old White women) or eliminated (for 18- to 19-year-old Black women and 15- to 17-year-old White women). CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent mothers experience high rates of depressive symptoms relative to adult mothers, and mental health and other interventions that alleviate the exacerbating influence of poverty and unmarried status are warranted.

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