Parenting programs that address both mental health and parenting skills can benefit children’s development, but they frequently fall short in terms of providing adequate mental-health assistance to parents, according to recent research.
“It’s a surprising contradiction,” said Marilyn Ahun, the study’s principal author and Assistant Professor in the Department of Medicine at McGill University. “Our findings show the potential of multi-component programs, while revealing gaps that need to be addressed.”
The research team evaluated and analyzed 25 studies from around the world, working with colleagues from Harvard, Kuwait, and Emory universities.
Many of these programs only dedicate one or two sessions to mental health, which isn’t enough to help parents who are struggling. This is particularly concerning, as about one-in-four mothers and one-in-10 fathers experience depression during the perinatal period, making it difficult for them to provide the nurturing support their children need.
Marilyn Ahun
The researchers, who published their findings in The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, discovered that children under three whose parents participated in integrated programs had superior emotional and cognitive skills than those who did not receive any help. However, mothers reported little to no improvement from their depression symptoms. The authors stated that there aren’t enough studies examining depression in fathers to determine how programs affect their symptoms.
The findings could contribute in the development of programs that better support parents and their early children during a period when children’s brains are most receptive to experiences, according to the researchers. They observed that, even if children benefited from their parents’ child-rearing support, parental mental health has a significant impact on parenting behaviors and child outcomes.
Gap in mental health support for parents
Programs for parents of young children often address either child-rearing skills or mental health support. In integrated programs that cover both, the primary emphasis is on child-rearing skills, said the authors.
“Many of these programs only dedicate one or two sessions to mental health, which isn’t enough to help parents who are struggling,” said Ahun, who is also a Junior Scientist at the Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre.
“This is particularly concerning, as about one-in-four mothers and one-in-10 fathers experience depression during the perinatal period, making it difficult for them to provide the nurturing support their children need,” she added.
With more than 250 million children worldwide falling short of their developmental potential, the researchers say their findings offer insights into how best to improve family support during a critical phase of early-childhood development.
