Improving preschool attendance and parent mental health could reduce inequity in childhood

New research from the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has shown that improving childhood preschool attendance and parental mental health could reduce child and youth mental health inequities. 

 

Professor Sharon Goldfeld led the study which found that increasing children’s preschool attendance, improving the mental health of parents and addressing social and economic disadvantages in the early years could reduce the risk of children developing mental health problems later on.

 

The study used data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, a birth cohort of 5,107 children which includes children from all parts of Australia that commenced in 2004.

 

“Children’s mental health and wellbeing is affected by where they live, learn and grow,” Professor Goldfield said. 

 

“Good mental health allows children to make friends, to play and learn, and to deal with challenges. When children experience social and economic disadvantage, they are more likely to have mental health problems. It’s important to act early to prevent these issues and help children be as happy and healthy as possible.”

 

The study compared the outcomes of children who experienced socioeconomic disadvantage in the first year of life and used this to understand the connection between inequalities and children’s mental health problems at age 10 to 11 years.

 

The findings showed that 32.8 per cent of children from disadvantaged backgrounds had increased mental health symptoms compared to 18.7 per cent of non-disadvantaged children.

 

“The National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy tells us that around half of children with poor mental health don’t get help from professionals,” Professor Goldfeld said. 

 

“Our study identifies concrete steps we can take towards preventing poor mental health among children, building a solid base to help children develop and maintain good mental health and wellbeing.”

 

While the interventions the researchers propose in their work are not sufficient on their own to close the socioeconomic contributions to children’s mental health problems, they would work in combination with a range of strategies in early childhood to improve the mental health of children and their families.

 

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