Parenthood and Self-Reported Depression, Anxiety, and Life Satisfaction in the COVID-19 Pandemic in the UK: An Examination of Differences by Age of Children and Level of Social Support

Hannah Jones, Marie Houghton, Jorge Gato and Fiona Tasker ()
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Hannah Jones: School of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK
Marie Houghton: School of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK
Jorge Gato: Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Faculty of Psychology and Education Sciences, University of Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 4200-135 Porto, Portugal
Fiona Tasker: School of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck, University of London, London WC1E 7HX, UK

IJERPH, 2025, vol. 22, issue 11, 1-12

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic had a marked detrimental effect on the mental health of the UK population. Parents with dependent children were deemed vulnerable but research on parental mental health in this period neglected to examine a child’s age together with the presence of social support. To inform potential mental health support strategies this study investigated whether the pandemic was associated with different levels of psychological wellbeing for parents with youngest children of varying ages, relative to socio-demographic factors and social support levels. From November 2020 to April 2021 n = 915 UK adults completed an online survey measuring self-reported symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress, satisfaction with life, social support and socio-demographic characteristics. Results provide some evidence of better psychological wellbeing for parents with younger children (aged 0 to 5 years) than older children. Overall, social support was a key factor in mitigating depression, anxiety, and stress scores for parents of dependent-aged children. Findings provide new evidence supporting Pearlin’s Stress Process Model, highlighting the importance of social support to parents under pandemic-related pressures. These findings indicate that one way of safeguarding parents vulnerable to poor mental health could be by increasing social support to parents via formal and informal support services within school communities.

Keywords: mental health; wellbeing; parenthood; COVID; pandemic; stress process model; social support (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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