Children & Families

Mothers on welfare are more likely than other people to show symptoms of depression—a condition that can lead to future problems for their children, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at Child Trends.

The authors reviewed research on seven welfare- to-work programs and found that 30 percent to 45 percent of those mothers on public assistance, or who recently had gone off it, reported signs of depression, compared with 20 percent of the general population.

From interviews with the mothers, the researchers found that 5- to 7-year-old children with depressed mothers were more likely to be disobedient and bullying than other children from that age group in...