Moving may be a smart financial decision, but experts have warned that the disruption can have a negative impact on children’s mental health.
A new study reveals that young people who moved just once between the ages of 10 and 15 were 41 percent more likely to suffer from depression later in life.
And those who moved two or more times had a 61 percent higher risk of developing the disease.
Researchers from the UK and Denmark say this highlights the importance of a sedentary childhood and believe their findings could be “the tip of the iceberg”.
Professor Clive Sabel, from the University of Plymouth, said: ‘We know there are a number of factors that lead to a person being diagnosed with a mental illness.
Children who moved frequently during childhood are more likely to suffer from mental health problems later in life, study finds
People who moved a lot during childhood were also more likely to have suicide attempts, violent criminality, and substance abuse.
‘However, this is the first evidence to suggest that moving to a new neighbourhood during childhood is one of them, and we think the figures we’re seeing could be the tip of the iceberg.
‘During these formative years, children build their social networks through school, sports groups or other activities.
“Anytime they have to adapt to something new, it can be disruptive, so we potentially need to find new ways to help people overcome those challenges.”
The study, published in the journal JAMA Psychiatry, looked at nearly 1.1 million people born in Denmark between 1981 and 2001.
The number of times they moved house in their first 15 years was tracked and at least 35,000 were later diagnosed with depression.
Previous studies have found that people who grow up in disadvantaged neighborhoods are 10 percent more likely to develop depression in adulthood.
But this research found that any experience of moving during childhood, whether to a deprived area or not, had a much greater effect on the risk of depression.
People who moved frequently during childhood were also more likely to have suicide attempts, violent criminality, and substance abuse.
Although the researchers studied the Danish population, they believe the result would be similar in other parts of the Western world.
Professor Sabel said: ‘This study emphasises the importance of global policies that enable and support sedentary childhoods, but which take into account regional and cultural identities.
‘However, based on our findings, we also believe that certain groups of young people may be at higher risk.
‘Young people in care often face multiple moves and are potentially subject to additional pressures.
‘Then there are the children of military personnel, who move regularly depending on where their parents are stationed.
‘This study suggests that they and other similar children may need additional assistance to prevent the development of mental illness later in life.’
Up to 13 per cent of the world’s population is thought to be living with some form of mental health problem, and the global economic burden is projected to reach £4.5 trillion by 2030.