Unmarried mothers 'more depressed'

Almost 1,000 women were studied

Unmarried mothers are more likely to suffer depression than other women, a study suggests.

Researchers in the United States have also found that the absence of their natural father during their childhood may leave some women prone to depression.

The findings are based on a nationwide study of almost 1,000 women between 1979 and 1992.

A large number of factors work together to make people more vulnerable to be depression

Briony Hallam, Depression Alliance

An estimated one in five people suffer depression at some point in their lives.

Dr Ariel Kalil of the University of Chicago and Dr James Kunz of the University of Maryland looked at information collected as part of the US National Longitudinal Survey of Youth.

National survey

Women who took part in the survey answered questions that measured depressive symptoms, such as feelings of worthlessness or hopelessness, loneliness, loss of appetite, restless sleep and concentration problems.

The survey indicated that women who gave birth outside marriage were most likely to become depressed in their late 20s.

This applied to women who gave birth both before and after their 18th birthday.

The survey also suggested those whose natural fathers weren't living in the home, or who lived with their stepfather at the age of 14, were also more likely to become depressed.

A high rate of depression was also found among women who had low self-esteem or who had poor verbal and math skills as teenagers.

The researchers suggested that the link between having a child outside marriage and depression could change in the years ahead, not least because fewer people are getting married.

They said: "Perhaps as non-marital childbearing becomes more 'normative' over time, the relationship between it and later-life depressive symptomatology will change in nature and strength."

But the added: "We see this as a pressing issue for future research."

Many factors

Briony Hallam, deputy director of UK charity Depression Alliance, said the findings could prove useful.

"Information like this can help health professionals to identify people at risk," she told BBC News Online.

"It can also help individuals themselves who can then take steps to change their lives and to build up social contacts so that they are not so isolated."

She added: "A large number of factors work together to make people more vulnerable to be depression.

"In this case, it may be more to do with a lack of support and social isolation rather than the fact that they had a baby outside marriage."

The study is published in the journal Child Development.