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Parenting-related stressors and self-reported mental health of mothers with young children

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  • Mistry, R.
  • Stevens, G.D.
  • Sareen, H.
  • De Vogli, R.
  • Halfon, N.

Abstract

Objectives. We assessed whether there were associations between maternal mental health and individual and co-occurring parenting stressors related to social and financial factors and child health care access. Methods. We used cross-sectional data from the 2000 National Survey of Early Childhood Health. The 5-item Mental Health Inventory was used to measure self-reported mental health. Results. After we controlled for demographic covariates, we found that the following stressors increased the risk of poor maternal mental health: lack of emotional (odds ratio [OR] = 3.4; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.0, 5.9) or functional (OR = 2.2; 95% CI = 1.3, 3.7) social support for parenting, too much time spent with child (OR = 3.5; 95% CI = 2.0, 6.1), and difficulty paying for child care (OR = 2.3; 95% CI = 1.4, 3.9). In comparison with mothers without any parenting stressors, mothers reporting 1 stressor had 3 times the odds of poor mental health (OR = 3.1; 95% CI = 2.1, 4.8), and mothers reporting 2 or more stressors had nearly 12 times the odds (OR = 11.7; 95% CI = 7.1, 19.3). Conclusions. If parenting stressors such as those examined here are to be addressed, changes may be required in community support systems, and improvements in relevant social policies may be needed.

Suggested Citation

  • Mistry, R. & Stevens, G.D. & Sareen, H. & De Vogli, R. & Halfon, N., 2007. "Parenting-related stressors and self-reported mental health of mothers with young children," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 97(7), pages 1261-1268.
  • Handle: RePEc:aph:ajpbhl:10.2105/ajph.2006.088161_4
    DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.088161
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    Cited by:

    1. van Mourik, K. & Crone, M.R. & Reis, R., 2018. "Relevance of the intervention module “Coping with stress and unhelpful emotions” for parents living in multi-ethnic deprived neighborhoods," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 426-433.
    2. Vered Ben David, 2021. "Associations between Parental Mental Health and Child Maltreatment: The Importance of Family Characteristics," Social Sciences, MDPI, vol. 10(6), pages 1-13, May.
    3. Ayllón, Sara & Ferreira-Batista, Natalia N., 2015. "‘Mommy, I miss daddy’. The effect of family structure on children's health in Brazil," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 19(C), pages 75-89.
    4. Stefanie Sperlich & Sonja Arnhold-Kerri & Siegfried Geyer, 2011. "What accounts for depressive symptoms among mothers? The impact of socioeconomic status, family structure and psychosocial stress," International Journal of Public Health, Springer;Swiss School of Public Health (SSPH+), vol. 56(4), pages 385-396, August.

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