Salt P, Galler J R, Ramsey F C
Boston University School of Medicine, Massachusetts 02118.
J Dev Behav Pediatr. 1988 Feb;9(1):1-5.
A self-rating scale was used to assess the presence or absence of depressive symptoms among mothers of 129 Barbadian school children, ages 5 to 11 years, who had experienced marasmus in the first year of life. They were matched with the same number of mothers of comparison children who had no documented histories of malnutrition. Depressive symptoms, especially feelings of hopelessness, occurred more often among the mothers of previously malnourished children than among mothers of comparison children. Depressive symptoms were also more common in association with disadvantaged socioeconomic and home conditions. Maternal depressive symptoms were significantly correlated with the behavioral and cognitive functioning of the child during the school years. When both nutritional history and environmental conditions were controlled, maternal hopelessness had significant effects on school attendance and grades in reading, but there was no association with IQ. This led us to hypothesize that maternal depressive feelings may be an independent factor contributing to long-term behavioral and cognitive deficits in children with histories of early malnutrition.
采用自评量表对129名巴巴多斯学龄儿童（5至11岁）的母亲进行评估，这些儿童在出生后第一年曾患消瘦症。研究将她们与相同数量的对照儿童的母亲进行匹配，这些对照儿童没有营养不良的记录。与对照儿童的母亲相比，曾患营养不良儿童的母亲中，抑郁症状，尤其是绝望感，出现得更为频繁。抑郁症状在社会经济和家庭条件不利的情况下也更为常见。母亲的抑郁症状与孩子在上学期间的行为和认知功能显著相关。当同时控制营养史和环境条件时，母亲的绝望感对孩子的出勤率和阅读成绩有显著影响，但与智商无关。这使我们推测，母亲的抑郁情绪可能是导致有早期营养不良史的儿童出现长期行为和认知缺陷的一个独立因素。
