Lots of the accoutrements of childhood come in threes - there are the three blind mice and the three little pigs, not to mention the billy goats gruff. There's an altogether different tale of threes-and it doesn't end happily ever after.
According to researchers at the University of Michigan, there are three adverse experiences during childhood that are particularly likely to lead to bouts of major depression in adulthood. At the top of the list is growing up in a violent home. Parental mental illness and parental divorce are close behind.
"These are the Big Three," reports psychologist Ronald C. Kessler, Ph.D., at the university's Institute for Social Research. Other adverse experiences during childhood are less likely to inflict long-term emotional damage.
In a survey of 2,867 adults, Kessler and colleague William Magee found people with a family history of violence (11% of respondents) are about two and a half times more likely to get depressed by the time they are 20 than those who haven't experienced violence. After age 20, they're twice as likely to get depressed and have twice as many bouts of depression.
