PARENTAL ABSENCE DURING CHILDHOOD AND DEPRESSION IN LATER LIFE

Long‐term consequences of parental absence during childhood for adult depression are examined using 1987–1988 National Survey of Families and Households data. Whites and African Americans, male and female, separated from a parent score higher on a measure of depression than those raised in continuously intact families. Hispanic males and females show no such differences. All reasons for parental absence (divorce, death, out‐of‐wedlock birth, and others) relate to elevated depression in one or another group. Educational attainment and current marital status mediated a moderate proportion of the estimated effect for whites and African American females. Copyright © 1991, Wiley Blackwell. All rights reserved