Response 1: Emily Iglesias Affects of Depression on Parents and there Children P

Response 1:
Emily Iglesias
Affects of Depression on Parents and there Children
Parents are supposed to be role models for their children, who look up to them as though they are all they aspire to be. For example, if a child is learning to walk and falls, the infant will cry if the parents react. If the newborn is walking and they fall, the parents encourage him to get up; the baby will not respond but will be more driven to try again. Children reflect on their parents’ emotions, such as happiness, sadness, rage, etc. Now in this discussion with this example of emotion, depression is an emotion that children will adapt to if they are within the environment as their parents. I believe that depression and other genes within the individual can be in them but will only be revealed based on the individual’s characteristics. Particular behaviors during pregnancy may be correlated with depression and affect’s the child’s development (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2009). If children see a parent’s depression symptoms, it will affect their physical health and well-being (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2009). There are several reasons parents may have depression, here are the following: not being able to keep up with the child’s needs, financial, and marital issues. There are different approaches to treating depression, such as pharmacotherapy, psychotherapies, behavioral therapies, and alternative medicines (National Research Council and Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, 2009). When parents take initiative, this will affect their parenting style and environment for themself and the child in a positive way. Depending on the age and severity of the case, if the child has mild depression, a cognitive behavior and interpersonal therapy is recommended; if moderate or severe, pharmacotherapy is recommended (Clarke, et al., 2012). As for other factors, none come to mind besides the ones given in the discussion, genetic and environmental.
Response 2:
Alexa Ortega
Depression affects millions of people around the world daily. This means that there are parents who are struggling with depression that could potentially have their children experience depression as well. There are two sides to viewing how the mental illness could be passed on. The first one being that if you grow up in an environment where you are exposed to depression then you are more susceptible to also have it. This makes perfect sense to me, as you grow up with your parents being your number one role models. These are the people who you spend the most time with and eventually you learn to carry the same characteristics as them. However, the second side focuses more on genetic factors. A study done by Stanford Medicine shows that the outcome of a child having depression is 50% heritability and 50% physiological factors (Douglas & Walters ). I believe that it is true that children with depressed parents are more likely to be more depressed. In order to prevent this from happening seems to be tough, but there are some things I have in mind. Having an open discussion about the topic of mental illness is a great place to start. Acknowledging what is going on in the families life is important, so that the children could begin to understand what is happening. Secondly, therapy is a great way to allow for the child to speak to a professional from an early age. They could have their own concerns or questions answered for them by someone whom they could trust.