Symptoms of depression can be related to events in a child’s or teen’s life such as the loss of a family member, family discord, or to a history of neglect or abuse. However, true depressive disorders have a genetic or familial component that affects chemical processes in the brain and body that promote depression and anxiety.

As well, ongoing research suggests that there are processes initiated in early infancy that are associated with persistent abnormal reactions to stress throughout a person’s lifetime that contribute to the development of depression.[1]

 

1.	Ashman SB, Dawson G, 3 Ashman SB, Dawson G, Panagiotides H, Yamada E,    Wilkinson CW. 2002. Stress hormone levels of children of depressed mothers.  Development and Psychopathology; 14:333-349.