We always knew that the environment has a very strong effect on the onset of depression. With children particularly, if you can delay the onset for as long as possible or even prevent it, you can do a great service to a child.

We had a hard time finding women with children to come in for treatment.

You should find out what's going on in the home. If it's a depression in either parent, the parent should be encouraged to get treatment.

While depression may be a genetic disorder, it has a strong environmental component. And, for a child, a parent's illness is a very strong environmental effect. You want to reduce that effect so that you can have a beneficial effect on the child.

We were amazed at these findings, and amazed at how strong they were.

We know that depression and other disorders are brought on by strong environmental stresses. Having a parent with an illness is a big environmental stress.

We focused on mothers because depression is more common in women than men, and women are more apt to come for treatment. But we suspect the same with depressed fathers.

Depressed parents should be treated vigorously ... the impact is not only on them but it's also on their children.

If you have a depressed mother, you ought to do everything you can to get her better, because there's a double effect. While depression may be a genetic disorder, it has a strong environmental component. And, for a child, a parent's illness is a very strong environmental effect. You want to reduce that effect so that you can have a beneficial effect on the child.

Reducing stress associated with a mother's depression may reverse the long-standing symptoms in children who are likely to be genetically vulnerable. If you could delay the onset, you may be able to prevent it.