If you’re convinced that your mum has a favourite, you’re probably right, but don’t be envious: they are more likely than you to be depressed.
A new study by researchers at Purdue University says adult children who report being closest to their mums report “higher depressive symptoms” and it may be because they feel responsible for taking care of her.
The study, in the Medical Daily,, says children who report having the most conflict with their mum also suffered depressive symptoms.
The research team, headed by Dr Jill Suitor, a professor of sociology at Purdue, and Dr. Karl Pillemer, a professor of gerontology in medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College, have been studying family dynamics since 2001, and they are in no doubt that hierarchical relationships exist in families, meaning some children are favoured, and it does make a difference to how life turns out.
