Inequality and parent mental health: A mixed methods study exploring multiple perspectives on the issues impacting, and options to support, parent mental health and wellbeing in the UK.

Abstract

Parents face multiple pressures on mental health and wellbeing but such pressures are not well accounted for and there has been inadequate attention given to barriers parents face to access support. This study explored multi-dimensional pressures impacting parent mental health and wellbeing and examined how such pressures are experienced unequally. It considered inequalities in access to relationships and spaces of support, by adopting the African proverb ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ as a central thread. The mixed methods (qualitative dominant) enquiry combined multiple methods with different stakeholders. The methods were social media analysis (N=829 social media posts written by parents, extracted June 2020), online survey of parents (N=274 responses, disseminated February – May, 2021), asset-map development (parent support offerings in a case study county, data extracted January – June, 2022), and qualitative interviews with people who worked or volunteered with parents (N=13, May – August 2022). Data from all methods were integrated into a thematic analysis to inform three findings chapters focused on environments of home, community, and service landscape. Variations in need for support were identified alongside unequal access to resources of relationships, space, time, and money. It was found that many parents face inequalities but particular concerns were identified for single parents, parents with a mental health condition, on low-incomes, and/ or raising children with additional needs. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated many issues but difficulties at this time were widely connected to (and illustrative of) ongoing inequalities. It was found that support services have been eroded, leaving families with fewer options, and creating challenges for those who work or volunteer in the sector. In conclusion, it is argued that structural factors influencing parent mental health and wellbeing and the role of the ‘village’ in supporting parents needs greater attention, alongside improved and earlier access to support, in order to address mental health and wellbeing at a family level.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Rachel Elizabeth Houweling: orcid.org/0000-0002-9982-8531

ORCID for Dianna Smith: orcid.org/0000-0002-0650-6606

ORCID for (Andy) Power: orcid.org/0000-0002-3887-1050

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