Economic Stress, Social Support, and Maternal Depression: Is Social Support Deterioration Occurring.

Maternal depression in low-income women is a significant problem because of its negative consequences for both mothers and their children. Economic stress increases risk for depression; however, mechanisms linking economic stress and depression are not well understood. The social support deterioration model suggests that chronic stressors can exert effects on psychological well-being directly) and, also, indirectly when stressors undermine social support. The analysis presented in this article tested the relationships suggested by the social support deterioration model by examining the direct and indirect links among economic stress, social support, and depressive symptoms in a sample of 336 mothers with children in mental health care. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the hypothesized paths depicted by this model and the relevant demographic variables. Economic stress was associated with depressive symptoms and appeared to exert part of its influence by reducing social support. Future research should consider social support and economic stress as potential targets for prevention of and intervention regarding maternal depression. KEY WORDS: economic stress; maternal depression; mental health; social support; socioeconomic status ********** Maternal depression is a significant public mental health problem that can negatively affect mothers and children. Besides the direct negative effects that mothers can experience, such as lowered quality of life and potential deficits in workplace and home settings (Druss, Rosenheck, & Sledge, 2000; Judd et al., 2000; Stewart, Ricci, Chee, Hahn, & Morganstein, 2003), children of depressed mothers are at greater risk for behavioral and emotional problems (Ashman, Dawson, & Panagiotides, 2008; Weissman et al., 2006). Although the mechanisms linking mothers' and children's behavioral health outcomes are not yet clearly understood, it appears that parenting is negatively affected by the symptoms of depression and that children may also model cognitions, behaviors, and affect consistent with the illness (S. H. Goodman, 2007; S. H. Goodman & Gotlib, 1999). Understanding the role of factors that may contribute to maternal depression is an important task to ultimately developing treatment and preventive strategies to alleviate this problem. This article examines the effects of economic stress and social support on maternal depressive symptoms in a group of predominantly low-income mothers whose children are receiving mental health care. A number of important studies have documented the link between economic stress and depressive illness. Since Brown, Bhrolchain, and Harris's (1975) study of psychiatric symptoms in working-class and middle-class women, research has continued to accumulate linking economic stress and the risk of experiencing depressive illness. In a meta-analysis of 60 studies examining socioeconomic inequalities and depression, individuals in the lowest socioeconomic status (SES) group were nearly twice as likely to experience a current depressive episode as those in the highest SES group (Lorant et al., 2003). Longitudinal studies have also confirmed that sustained economic stress increases the risk of experiencing depressive symptoms (Dearing, Taylor, & McCartney, 2004; Lynch, Kaplan, & Shema, 1997). The alarming rate of depressive symptoms in low-income community samples of mothers also suggests a link between economic stress and depression. In a variety of studies specific to low-income mothers, 35% to 52% of women were found to be at risk for clinical depression (Coiro, 2001; Kalil, Born, Kunz, & Caudill, 2001; Pascoe, Stolfi, & Ormond, 2006). Despite the detrimental impact of economic stress, it appears that social support may provide some protection from maternal depression. Studies specifically addressing social support and maternal depression have confirmed that high levels of social support are associated with significantly lower levels of depressive symptoms and a lower risk of depressive illness (Cairney, Boyle, Offord, & Racine, 2003; Siefert, Bowman, Heflin, Danziger, W Surkan, Peterson, Hughes, & Gottlieb, 2006). …