Research Report Depression in Low-Income Mothers of Young Children: Are They Getting the Treatment They Need?
Marla McDaniel, Christopher Lowenstein
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Maternal depression can have severe and lasting consequences for both a mother and her child. This brief uses the National Survey of Drug Use and Health to estimate the prevalence, severity, and treatment of major depression among low-income mothers with young children (ages 0-5). We find that one out of eleven low-income mothers with young children had a major depressive episode in the past year, and nearly one-third did not report receiving any treatment. While uninsured low-income mothers had much lower treatment rates than insured low-income mothers, rates were comparable across treatment providers, suggesting that Medicaid fills an important gap.
Research Areas Health and health care Families Children and youth
Tags Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program  Medicare Health insurance Children and youth
Policy Centers Center on Labor, Human Services, and Population