Inheritance of Struggle: How Economic Inequality Fuels Depression Across Generations

Background: There have been few nationally representative studies on the association between intergenerational economic resources and mental health, particularly in the context of the mother-child relationship. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between maternal poverty and young adult children's depression and to test the mediating role of young adult children's income on the relationship. Methods: The data were collected from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 79 for Children and Young Adults (NLSY79 CY). The two data sets were merged, 4224 pairs of mothers and their young adult children were selected, and a mediation model was conducted. Results: Mothers' poverty was significantly associated with their young adult children's income and their young adult children's depression. Young adult children's income was also significantly associated with their depression. Results indicated evidence of a mediation of the association between maternal poverty and young adult children's depression by young adult children's income. Conclusions: Recognizing mothers as independent agents of mobility transmission is necessary to further understand intergenerational mobility by considering the relationship between mothers and children. Anti-poverty interventions or programs targeted toward mothers should be developed to reduce mental health problems amongst their young adult children. Educational programs meant to increase economic resources should also focus on women with children in order to improve intergenerational economic mobility and their children's depression in young adulthood.