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Social inequalities found in mental health care

Children whose mothers had a high school education or less presented poorer mental health than children whose mothers graduated from college, according to study results published online in Pediatrics.

Mental health disorders affect 10% to 20% of children and adolescents, according to researchers. More than half of mental health problems in the general population are derived from childhood.

“Health inequalities are determined socially and are unfair and modifiable differences,” the researchers wrote.

Laura Barriuso-Lapresa, PhD, of the Unidad Docente de Medicina Preventiva y Salud Pública de la Region de Murcia, Spain, and colleagues collected data on 6,414 children and adolescents aged 4 to 15 years who were part of the Spanish National Health Survey in 2006. Children’s mental health and health-related quality of life were assessed using the parents’ version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and the parent-reported KIDSCREEN instrument. The researchers also collected sociodemographic data, as well as information on family structure, socioeconomic status and discrimination.

Children whose mothers had a primary school education (OR=1.37; 95% CI, 1.29-1.46) or high school education (OR=1.21; 95% CI, 1.14-1.29) presented poorer mental health compared with those whose mothers had a college degree. Disadvantaged children showed only slightly poorer health-related quality of life scores (OR=0.98; 95% CI, 0.97-0.99), a result that may be attributable to Barriuso-Lapresa and colleagues using different methods and instruments than other researchers who found larger disparities in the quality of life of children belonging to different socioeconomic statuses.

Barriuso-Lapresa and colleagues said the mental health results are in keeping with those of previous studies, both in Western Europe and in the United States.

“Policymakers and clinicians should be aware of the magnitude of social inequalities in mental health,” the researchers wrote, adding that future studies should address the reasons for social inequalities in mental health.

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.