Did Children in Single-Parent Households Have a Higher Probability of Emotional Instability during the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study in Japan

Takuto Naito, Yasutake Tomata, Tatsui Otsuka, Kanami Tsuno and Takahiro Tabuchi
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Takuto Naito: Department of Global Public Health, Karolinska Institutet, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden
Yasutake Tomata: School of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health and Social Services, Kanagawa University of Human Services, Yokosuka 238-8522, Japan
Tatsui Otsuka: Department of Psychiatry, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai 980-8574, Japan
Kanami Tsuno: School of Health Innovation, Kanagawa University of Human Services, Kawasaki 210-0821, Japan
Takahiro Tabuchi: Cancer Control Center, Osaka International Cancer Institute, Osaka 541-8567, Japan

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: The influence of public health measures against COVID-19 in Japan on child mental health by household type is unknown. This study aimed to investigate whether COVID-19 and the declaration of a state of emergency in Japan affected children’s mental health between single-parent and two-parent households disproportionately. A large cross-sectional online survey was conducted from August to September 2020. The study included 3365 parents with children aged 0–14 years old who reported their children’s mental status during the declared state of emergency. Emotional instability was reported dichotomously by parents. As the primary result, the probability of emotional instability was higher in single-parent households compared with that in two-parent households after adjustments for potential covariates; the adjusted prevalence ratio (95% CI) was 1.26 (1.07–1.49). Our findings suggest a disproportionate impact on children’s mental health due to the pandemic.

Keywords: single-parent; COVID-19; children; mental health; Japan (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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