It's no surprise that the number of trips a child takes to the doctor is influenced by his mother's mental health. Mothers who are depressed, anxious or have strong psychosomatic symptoms take their kids to the doctor twice as much as a normal parent. What's more, one study shows that parental influence has a large impact on children's health.
Even when researchers adjusted for the level of pain the child was in, parental influence remains a strong factor. Lead researcher Rona Levy, a professor at the University of Washington reports that anxious parents are over-vigilant, while depressed mothers "catastrophize" minor injuries. While a trip to the doctor could also be an effective way for parent and child to bond, crying wolf does more harm than good.
"Any pediatrician knows to take the messenger into account," says Mark Levy (no relation), at the University of California at San Francisco. He notes that most pediatricians pay more attention to the parent and child who visit less often. This can be detrimental to the child of the over-vigilant parent. "We don't want parents to ignore their children's health," says Mark Levy, "but we want to encourage them to respond when it is appropriate."
