Statistics Shows: Parenthood Is Depressing!

Filed in archive on May 4, 2006

Oh my. Are we parents doomed to suffer depression?

A study by Florida State University professor Robin Simon and Vanderbilt University's Ranae Evenson found that parents have significantly higher levels of depression than adults who do not have children. Even more surprising, the symptoms of depression do not go away when the kids grow up and move out of the house.

The article goes to explain that depression can be simply attributable to parents having more more worries than non-parents. And who am I to disagree? I worry about my son's well-being every minute he's somewhere I'm not. Is he eating enough? Is he getting along with his playmates? Why are we having problems with toilet training? Is he going to succeed in this increasingly competitive world? I'm not the only one this paranoid, am I?

The researchers offer an explanation to this syndrome:

The findings do not mean that parents don't find any pleasure in their roles; it's just that the emotional costs can outweigh the psychological benefits. That's because,as the saying goes, it takes a village to raise a child, but in the United States, parents don't necessarily have community support or help from extended family.

"It's how we do parenting in this society," Simon said. "We do it in a very isolated way and the onus is on us as individuals to get it right. Our successes are our own, but so are our failures. It's emotionally draining."

I live in Europe, but sometimes, I can relate. Do you sometimes feel that way too?

About the author: Ruth Schaffer is a Microbiologist by training and currently authors the Allergy and Biotechnology weblogs for Creative Weblogging, and a Asian travel weblog for b5media.. She is a mother to a bi-racial, bilingual, precocious 3-yr old.