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. 2023 Aug 8;9(5):e147.
doi: 10.1192/bjo.2023.529.

The role of parenting practices in parent and child mental health over time

Katherine T Cost  1 , Piyumi Mudiyanselage  2 , Eva Unternaehrer  3 , Daphne J Korczak  4 , Jennifer Crosbie  4 , Evdokia Anagnastou  5 , Suneeta Monga  4 , Elizabeth Kelley  6 , Russell Schachar  4 , Jonathon Maguire  7 , Paul Arnold  8 , Christie L Burton  9 , Stelios Georgiades  10 , Rob Nicolson  11 , Catherine S Birken  12 , Alice Charach  13
Affiliations

The role of parenting practices in parent and child mental health over time

Katherine T Cost et al. BJPsych Open. .

Abstract

Background: Parent and child mental health has suffered during the pandemic and transition phase. Structured and shared parenting may be intervention targets beneficial to families who are struggling with parent or child mental health challenges.

Aims: First, we investigated associations between structured and shared parenting and parent depression symptoms. Second, we investigated associations between structured and shared parenting and depression, hyperactivity/inattention and irritability symptoms in children.

Method: A total of 1027 parents in two-parent households (4797 observations total; 85.1% mothers) completed online surveys about themselves and their children (aged 2-18 years) from April 2020 to July 2022. Structured parenting and shared parenting responsibilities were assessed from April 2020 to November 2021. Symptoms of parent depression, child depression, child hyperactivity and inattention, child irritability, and child emotional and conduct problems were assessed repeatedly (one to 14 times; median of four times) from April 2020 to July 2022.

Results: Parents who reported higher levels of shared parenting responsibilities had lower depression symptoms (β = -0.09 to -0.32, all P < 0.01) longitudinally. Parents who reported higher levels of shared parenting responsibilities had children with fewer emotional problems (ages 2-5 years; β = -0.07, P < 0.05), fewer conduct problems (ages 2-5 years; β = -0.09, P < 0.01) and less irritability (ages 13-18 years; β = -0.27, P < 0.001) longitudinally. Structured parenting was associated with fewer conduct problems (ages 2-5 years; β = -0.05, P < 0.05).

Conclusions: Shared parenting is beneficial for parent and child mental health, even under chaotic or inflexible life conditions. Structured parenting is beneficial for younger children.

Keywords: Carers; childhood experience; out-patient treatment; psychosocial interventions; shared parenting.

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Conflict of interest statement

K.T.C. reported receiving grants from The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research; they have also acted as a statistical consultant for Unity Health and University of Toronto and conference/meeting attendance support from Merit Network. E.U. reported receiving grants from University of Basel Research Fund (3MS1064). D.J.K. reported receiving grants from Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Hospital for Sick Children, Gary Hurvitz Centre for Brain and Mental Health, the University of Toronto, and conference/meeting attendance support from the Canadian Paediatric Society and the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. J.C. reported receiving grants from Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Ontario Brain Institute, and the Hospital for Sick Children Foundation. E.A. reported receiving consultation fees from Roche and Quadrant, research funding from Roche, in-kind support from AMO Pharma, editorial honoraria from Wiley and book royalties from APPI and Springer; she also holds a patent for the device Tully (formerly Anxiety Meter) and in-kind support for all Province of Ontario Neurodevelopmental Network data from the Ontario Brain Institute during the conduct of the study. S.M. reported receiving grants outside of the submitted work from the Cundill Centre for Youth Depression at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, and the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, royalties from Springer Publishing, and research support as the holder of the TD Bank Financial Group Chair in Child & Adolescent Psychiatry. E.K. reported receiving grants from Ontario Brain Institute, Canadian Institutes of Health Research and the Masonic Foundation of Ontario outside the submitted work. J.M. reported receiving grants from Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Ontario SPOR Support Unit, St. Michael’s Hospital Foundation, and the Lawson Centre for Child Nutrition, University of Toronto. R.S. receives grant funding from CIHR and Ontario Brain Institute, honoraria from Otsuka Pharmaceutical for scientific consultation, and equity in ehave. C.L.B. reported receiving grants from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. S.G. reported receiving grants from Canadian Institutes of Health Research, McMaster University, Hamilton Health Sciences and HHS Foundation, the Masonic Foundation of Ontario, Empowered Kids Ontario, Azrieli Foundation, and the Ontario Brain Institute. R.N. has received grants from Ontario Brain Institute during the conduct of the study and has also received funding from Brain Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, and Hoffman-Laroche Ltd outside of the submitted work. C.S.B. reported receiving grants from Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada, Physician Services Inc, The Edwin S.H. Leong Centre for Healthy Children, University of Toronto and Hospital for Sick Children, The Center for for Addiction and Mental Health, Walmart Canada Regional Community on addressing food insecurity in children admitted to hospital. A.C. reported receiving grants from SickKids Hospital and Leong Centre for Healthy Children. All other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Sample size flow chart.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
(a) Shared parenting and parent symptoms of depression. (b) Shared parenting and child symptoms of depression/emotional problems. (c) Structured parenting and child symptoms of irritability/conduct problems. (d) Shared parenting and child symptoms of irritability/conduct problems. All analyses stratified by child developmental groups: 2–5 years, 6–9 years, 10–12 years and 13–18 years. Statistically significant results are indicated by an asterisk (*) in the key.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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