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AJPH First Look, published online ahead of print May 30, 2007
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American Journal of Public Health, 10.2105/AJPH.2006.088161

Research and Practice

Parenting-Related Stressors and Self-Reported Mental Health of Mothers With Young Children

Ritesh Mistry 1*, Gregory D. Stevens 2, Harvinder Sareen 1, Roberto De Vogli 3, Neal Halfon 1

1 UCLA
2 USC Keck School of Medicine
3 University College of London

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: riteshm{at}ucla.edu.


  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.

Key Words: Mental Health, Socioeconomic Factors, Surveys, Women's Health




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