Poor mental health in childhood also has to do with poverty and the mental health of parents

Situations of economic difficulty entail a greater risk of poor mental health of parents and this is also associated with worse mental health of their sons and daughters. The correlation has been shown to be stronger in situations of severe material poverty and high food insecurity.

Numerous investigations have shown that children who grow up in a home with a disadvantaged socioeconomic position have fewer opportunities for development, especially in the cognitive dimension, but also in the emotional or behavioral dimension. Other investigations have clarified that Economic difficulties increase psychosocial disorders in children even due to the poor mental health of their parents. Thus, adults’ concern about not having sufficient financial resources makes proper parenting difficult. Economic stress increases couple conflicts and favors inconsistent parenting practices, whether more rigid or lax. Other conditions are also important for the maximum development of children, specifically, the difference between receiving or not receiving public aid, the quality of schools and/or the neighborhood environment. To know the interrelation of some of these elements, a representative sample of households with children from the Health Survey prepared by the Barcelona Public Health Agency (ASPB) in the city in 2016, when the effects of the economic crisis still persisted, with unemployment rates around 27% (2012).

Households with economic difficulties have worse mental health indicators, both in parents and in their sons and daughters.

The study has analyzed three types of economic difficulties at home: the employment situation of fathers and/or mothers, material poverty and food insecurity. The aim was to compare how any of these situations affect the mental health of the parents and, by extension, their children. In all cases it has been shown how situations of economic difficulty entail a greater risk of poor mental health of parents and this is also associated with worse mental health of their sons and daughters. The correlation has been shown to be stronger in situations of severe material poverty and high food insecurity. It has also been shown that parents with a higher risk of poor mental health exercise a more inconsistent parenting style with their sons and daughters.

Poverty and food insecurity are associated with greater withdrawal and sadness in children

To further clarify these negative effects on the psychosocial well-being of children, it is possible to differentiate the problems in two dimensions: on the one hand, the dimension that externalizes the discomfort of childrenfor example, in the form of aggressiveness, lack of attention and/or relational conflict; on the other, the dimension that internalizes discomfort in the form of feelings of withdrawal, sadness and other adverse emotional effects.

Regarding the first dimension (externalization of discomfort), the weight of the poor mental health of the parents on the poor mental health of children who find themselves in economic difficulties is demonstrated. But, on the other hand, regarding the second dimension (internalization of discomfort) the association between suffering economic difficulties at home and problems related to depression in the child is direct (it is independent of the mental health status of the parents). This direct relationship may be related to the fact that children directly suffer economic difficulties, for example, in changes in the meal routine, or in a lower availability of food, which in turn leads to physical weakness and affects the feeling withdrawal or sadness of children. A situation of persistent poverty also aggravates this mechanism of child depression.

In parallel to these results, other studies also have detected associations between situations of persistent poverty and hyperactivity problems, a decrease in self-control and a worsening of children’s interpersonal relationships.. Unfortunately, sample limitations have not allowed us to know whether the effects on children’s mental health of suffering economic difficulties are more intense in certain subgroups of households. However, signs have been observed indicating that Single-parent households are those at highest risk of suffering from poverty. It has also not been possible to discern whether the effects on children differed according to the relationship with the mother or father, since, as the literature indicates, it changes depending on who assumes household, care and/or paid work roles. In any case, the conclusion is clear: Children living in more disadvantaged homes experience less psychosocial well-being and they internalize that feeling.

A healthy and safe residential environment is also important

To analyze the influence of the neighborhood environment, the parents’ opinion is used on whether they consider that the neighborhood where they live has a violence problem. Although with limitations, with this indicator we wanted to capture the importance of the quality of the neighborhood environment on children’s mental health beyond the economic difficulties of the home. The results show how the opinion about violence in the neighborhood is associated in all cases with poor mental health of the parents and also of the children. Consistent with other studies, one of the aspects that children value most is a safe environment, both at school and in the neighborhoods. As the latest analyzes of the Children’s Subjective Well-being Survey in Barcelona (2021) show, feeling safe is the variable most closely linked to children’s satisfaction with life.

The mental and physical well-being of children is relevant, not only for their present, but also because it has consequences in your adult life. Children who grow up in disadvantaged economic environments are more likely to work in precarious jobs with lower incomes and have worse health indicators, among other negative effects.

Given this, what should be done?

Various lines of intervention are feasible to preserve the best possible mental health in boys and girls. Firstly, from the point of view of family finances, alleviating the lack of resources, whether by increasing or extending minimum wages, via reduction of rates, or by promoting transfer programs for needs or other similar programs, would have the potential to improve the mental health of fathers and/or mothers and, therefore, also that of their children. Public policies that facilitate the provision of quality goods and services to children are also favorable, such as aid for school cafeterias and the care of minorsensure accessibility to daycare or greater work flexibility that facilitates family conciliation. A second line of action is interventions that combine the education of parents and children, or also those aimed at improving parenting skills, which require fewer resources than those aimed at both generations. Finally, urban actions aimed at promoting safe, healthy and enriching leisure environments are recommended, such as playable spaces, green and quality environments.