Parental neglect and abuse leave many children feeling hopeless and despondent. Yet some youngsters weather such maltreatment remarkably well. In a new study, scientists offer a rare peek at how genetics and interactions with adults collaborate either to depress mood or to
Parental neglect and abuse leave many children feeling hopeless and despondent. Yet some youngsters weather such maltreatment remarkably well. In a new study, scientists offer a rare peek at how genetics and interactions with adults collaborate either to depress mood or to foster resilience in abused kids.
Maltreated children who inherit two copies of a gene variant that was previously recognized to weaken the brain's mood regulation exhibit a marked propensity to become depressed only if they don't have a positive relationship with at least one adult, concludes a team led by psychiatrist Joan Kaufman of Yale University School of Medicine.
Kaufman's team studied 101 children, 57 of whom had been removed from their parents' care in the previous 6 months because of various types of abuse or domestic violence. The rest had no history of abuse and lived with their parents.