Depression declines after leaving college, leaving home : Pure Pedantry

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Jake Young is a MD/PhD student at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in NYC getting a PhD in Behavioral Neuroscience. He holds a BS and MS in Biological Sciences from Stanford University. If a volcano were to erupt Pompei-style in Central Park, his body would be preserved in a scoliotic posture over his lab desk. Archeaologists would later conclude that he spent most of his day training rats to perform tricks, until he went blind building electrical equipment by hand using a dissecting microscope. But, still, he died happy...because science is cool.

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Depression declines after leaving college, leaving home

Category: Depression
Posted on: May 14, 2008 9:54 AM, by NotoriousLTP

Well that is reassuring:

A new University of Alberta study of almost 600 of its graduates (ages 20-29 years old) tracked mental health symptoms in participants for seven years post-graduation and looked at how key events like leaving home and becoming a parent were related to depression and anger. Graduates showed a significant decrease in depressive symptoms over the seven years. Expressed anger also declined over time after graduation, suggesting improved mental health.
The researchers also found that while home may be a haven for young people in the early years of adulthood, the longer they stay at home, or if they return home, the more likely they are to experience symptoms of depression. Previous research has found that more than half of students under 25 in four-year university programs lived with their parents.

In this study, it was shown that younger participants were more depressed at times when they lived on their own, while older participants were more depressed while they lived with their parents.

In spite of all the travails of personal and professional life, I can always comfort myself that at least I don't live at home. (This is an impression that I assure you my parents share.) Not tested in this study were the increases in parent anxiety and depression from the delayed adolescence of their children.

This is a values issue, but I never was quite happy until I started taking care of myself. Though economic pressures often keep children at home longer than they would like, I can't but think that it comes at a price.

(I love you, Mom and Dad, and I will still visit!)

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Comments

Spending another four years after high school working hard under high pressure at classes day after day that you don't necessarily want to be in is depressing, and this depression lifts when you're free of it? Who'd a thunk it?!!

Posted by: Ian | May 14, 2008 12:10 PM

It was revealed that women were more depressed and angry at the start of the study than men.We found that people who became parents became angrier, and this was especially pronounced for mothers and this depression Diminishes the ability to think or concentrate or indecisiveness.
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Aditi
Dual Diagnosis
http://www.dual-diagnosis.net

Posted by: Aditi | June 22, 2008 11:11 PM