Early Parental Separation and Adult Depression

Abstract

• In a comparison with 300 matched controls, significantly more of 300 patients with nonendogenous depression had experienced permanent separation (not due to death) from their mother before both 11 and 17 years of age and significantly more had experienced permanent separation from their father (not due to death) before both 11 and 17 years of age. The results suggest that (1) early permanent separation from mother is a risk factor for nonendogenous depression but occurs in only about 6.7% of these patients before 11 years of age and in about 10% before 17 years of age and (2) early permanent separation from father is also a risk factor for nonendogenous depression and occurs in about 9.3% of these patients before 11 years of age and in about 16.7% before 17 years of age.