The hidden cost of parental mental illness

University of Delaware researchers examined the link between parental mental illness and childhood socioeconomic status. Over one in five adults in the U.S. live with a mental illness, and more than one in 14 children are in their care. A new study published in Frontiers in Psychology analyzed data from nearly 6,000 children and their parents. The researchers found that poorer parental mental health is significantly linked to more disadvantaged childhood socioeconomic status in both home and school settings. The study considered multiple mental health conditions across both parents, including depression, mania, and psychosis. The findings suggest that parental mental illness affects multiple layers of a child's development.