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BackgroundThe high rate of depression among children of depressed mothers is well known. Suggestions that improvement in maternal acute depression has a positive effect on the child have emerged. However, data on the mechanisms of change have been sparse. The aim was to understand how remission and relapse in the mother might explain the changes in the child's outcome.MethodParticipants were 76 depressed mothers who entered into a medication clinical trial for depression and 135 of their eligible offspring ages 7–17 years. The mothers and children were assessed at baseline and periodically over 9 months by independent teams to understand the relationship between changes in children's symptoms and functioning and maternal remission or relapse. The main outcome measures were, for mothers, the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD), the Social Adjustment Scale (SAS) and the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI) and, for children, the Children's Depression Inventory (CDI), the Columbia Impairment Scale (CIS), the Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children (MASC) and the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS).ResultsMaternal remission was associated with a decrease in the child's depressive symptoms. The mother's subsequent relapse was associated with an increase in the child's symptoms over 9 months. The effect of maternal remission on the child's improvement was partially explained by an improvement in the mother's parenting, particularly the change in the mother's ability to listen and talk to her child, but also reflected in her improvement in parental bonding. These findings could not be explained by the child's treatment.ConclusionsA depressed mother's remission is associated with her improvement in parenting and a decrease in her child's symptoms. Her relapse is associated with an increase in her child's symptoms.

Purpose Since 1996, 16 states have legalized marijuana use for medical purposes. The current study provides a scientific assessment of the association of medical marijuana laws (MML) and adolescent marijuana use using national data. Method State representative survey data on approximately 23,000 12–17 year olds were collected by the National Survey on Drug Use and Health annually from 2002–2008. Yearly state-specific estimates of prevalence of past-month marijuana use and perception of its riskiness were statistically tested for differences between states with and without MML by year and across years. Results States with MML had higher average adolescent marijuana use, 8.68% (95% CI: 7.95–9.42) and lower perception of riskiness, during the period 2002–2008 compared to states without MML, 6.94% (95% CI: 6.60–7.28%). In the eight states that passed MML since 2004, in the years prior to MML passage, there was already a higher prevalence of use and lower perceptions of risk in those states compared to states that have not passed MML. Conclusions While the most likely of several possible explanations for higher adolescent marijuana use and lower perceptions of risk in MML states cannot be determined from the current study, results clearly suggest the need for more empirically-based research on this topic.

Estimating the likelihood of future major depressive episodes (MDEs) would assist clinicians in decision-making regarding the optimal length of treatment for MDE. Unfortunately, little data are available to guide clinical practice.We followed 200 females and 152 males who responded to treatment for a MDE for 2 years to determine risk factors for future MDE. Cox Proportional Hazard Regression modeled time to first relapse into MDE and mixed effect logistic regression modeled monthly depression status.Females were more likely than males to experience a MDE in any month of the study, and marginally more likely to experience a relapse. By 12 months, 60% of females had relapsed compared to 51% of males (median time to relapse 8 vs. 13 months, respectively). Several factors predicted worse outcome for both men and women: reported childhood abuse, earlier age of onset of first MDE, bipolar disorder, unemployment, and more years of education. For females, but not males, suicidal ideation predicted MDE relapse and both suicidal ideation and prior suicide attempts were associated with more time in a MDE.The naturalistic treatment of participants, exclusion of individuals with current comorbid alcohol or substance use disorder, and a follow up period of two years are limitations.Women are more vulnerable to relapse and spend more time depressed compared to men. Identification of general and sex-specific risk factors for future depression may provide clinicians with useful tools to estimate need for ongoing pharmacotherapy in MDE.

To replicate a prior study that found greater adolescent marijuana use in states that have passed medical marijuana laws (MMLs), and extend this analysis by accounting for confounding by unmeasured state characteristics and measurement error.We obtained state-level estimates of marijuana use from the 2002 through 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and Health. We used 2-sample t-tests and random-effects regression to replicate previous results. We used difference-in-differences regression models to estimate the causal effect of MMLs on marijuana use, and simulations to account for measurement error.We replicated previously published results showing higher marijuana use in states with MMLs. Difference-in-differences estimates suggested that passing MMLs decreased past-month use among adolescents by 0.53 percentage points (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.03-1.02) and had no discernible effect on the perceived riskiness of monthly use. Models incorporating measurement error in the state estimates of marijuana use yielded little evidence that passing MMLs affects marijuana use.Accounting for confounding by unmeasured state characteristics and measurement error had an important effect on estimates of the impact of MMLs on marijuana use. We find limited evidence of causal effects of MMLs on measures of reported marijuana use.