Moving Even Once in Childhood Boosts Depression Risk Later in Life

It appears as if families that move – even for the best of reasons – run the risk of raising kids who struggle with depression later in life.

A just-published cohort study illuminates the delicate link between childhood environments and mental health in adulthood. In short, the research shows that both neighborhood deprivation and residential mobility play outsized roles in the development of depression.

This study – the product of collaboration between researchers in Denmark and the United Kingdom – analyzed data on more than 1 million people born between 1982 and 2003. And what they found could inform public health policymaking and mental health treatment.

Stable Neighborhoods Stave Off Depression

For starters, the research, appearing in JAMA Psychiatry, found that kids who grew up in income-deprived neighborhoods had a higher chance of developing depression as adults. Specifically, for each one-standard-deviation increase in income deprivation, there was a 2 percent rise in the incidence of depression. The research team noted this connection after accounting for multiple individual factors, including parental education levels and incomes.

Incidentally, “young maternal age and, to a lesser extent, paternal age at birth were also associated with elevated risk in adulthood,” the paper’s authors wrote.

Worse still, those children whose families moved while they were growing up – regardless of the neighborhoods – faced much higher rates of adult depression compared to those who remained in one place. Children who moved two or more times were 61 percent more likely to develop depression in adulthood compared to those who stayed put. The research suggests that a stable home environment could act as a buffer against depression.

Methodology

The researchers worked from an exhaustive dataset culled from the Danish Civil Registration System. That dataset included detailed information on residential addresses and socio-economic factors for the entire population cohort.

The researchers tracked individuals from age 15 until death, emigration, or a depression diagnosis. The study ran until the end of 2018. The study’s design allowed for accurate calculations of neighborhood income deprivation and residential mobility, revealing the association between these factors and mental health outcomes.

“We know there are a number of factors which lead to a person being diagnosed with a mental illness,” University of Plymouth Professor of Big Data and Spatial Science Clive Sabel said in a press release. “However, this is the first evidence to suggest that moving to a new neighborhood during childhood is among them, and we believe the numbers we are seeing could be the tip of the iceberg. During those formative years, children are building their social networks through school, sports groups or other activities. Each time they have to adapt to something new it can be disruptive, so we potentially need to find new ways to help people overcome those challenges.”

Policy Implications

This paper adds to a mounting body of evidence that illustrates the extensive impact of socio-economic and environmental factors on mental health. Specifically, the researchers insist that these results highlight just how important one’s environment is during their formative years. The authors argue that this research justifies public policies that promote stable housing for families and reduce childhood deprivation. Aside from the obvious benefits, such policies could be critical to cutting the risk of depression later in life.

Globally, mental health looms as a major public health problem. The latest World Health Organization (WHO) report estimates that roughly 13 percent of the world’s population struggled with a mental health disorder as recently as 2020 – even before the pandemic threatened everyone’s peace of mind.

The economic burden is a quiet one, but staggering nonetheless. Including lost productivity and treatment costs, researchers claim that mental health issues cost the world’s economy at least $2.5 trillion in 2010. And experts expect that number to jump to $6 trillion over the next half-decade.

“This study emphasizes the importance of global policies that enable and support settled childhoods, but ones that take into account regional and cultural identities,” Sabel added. “However, based on our findings, we also believe particular groups of young people may be at heightened risk. Young people in care often face multiple moves and are potentially being placed under additional pressure. Then there are military children, who move regularly depending on where their parents are stationed. This study would suggest they, and other such children, may need additional assistance to prevent the development of mental illness in later life.”

It Takes a Neighborhood?

This research shores up the argument that the social exposome – such as neighborhood characteristics and family dynamics – plays a foundational role in one’s mental well-being.

Social interactions within neighborhoods, which foster a sense of community and belonging, reinforce the mental health of growing kids. Stable neighborhoods with strong social capital can enhance mental well-being and mitigate the risk of depression. Frequent moves disrupt those social networks and emotional ties, which can shake a child’s sense of stability and security. This disruption, the researchers argue, could contribute to higher depression rates.

Ensuring stable, supportive neighborhoods could be a winning strategy in fighting back against depression while promoting long-term well-being.

Further Reading

New Study Confirms Causal Link Between Poverty and Mental Illness

Telehealth Usage Climbs While Payment Changes Threaten Care

Can an Apple a Day Keep Depression Away?