By investigating parents’ depression and how it can be associated with children’s emotional difficulties, this study showed that if untreated, mental ill-health can have significant long-lasting effects on the mother, father and children.

As this study points out, the activating and associating depressive symptoms between family members can be targeted for more rapid recovery, and may be key to identifying who might be more at risk of developing depression in young children, and later unintentionally influencing the transmission of depression.