The hidden cost of parental mental illness

Mental illness is among one of the most common health conditions in the U.S., with over one in five adults living with a mental illness. Many of these individuals are parents - more than one in 14 children are in the care of an adult living with a mental illness. In light of these statistics, University of Delaware researchers examined how parental mental illness affects the economic and social resources available to children.

In a new study published in Frontiers in Psychology, UD doctoral student Jingwen Zhou and assistant professor Stephanie Del Tufo investigated the association between parental mental illness and childhood socioeconomic status (SES), a complex group of social and economic indicators that predict a child's short- and long-term educational, developmental and health outcomes. The study offers a broader and more inclusive understanding of parental mental illness than prior research. After analyzing nationally representative data from nearly 6,000 children and their parents, Zhou and Del Tufo found that poorer parental mental health is significantly linked to more disadvantaged childhood SES in home and school settings.