Supervisors info:
Κολαΐτης Γεράσιμος, Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Λαζαράτου Ελένη, Καθηγήτρια, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Χριστογιώργος Στυλιανός, Αναπληρωτής Καθηγητής, Ιατρική Σχολή, ΕΚΠΑ
Summary:
Introduction. The economic recession is now a global problem and many scientists explore it’s consequences for mental health. Studies reveal that apart from adults also children and teenagers suffer particularly from poverty. The consequences of poverty on the mental well-being of children and adolescents is related to the functioning of their family and the parental practices, used by their parents. Specifically, poor families often use authoritarian or indifferent parenting practices which, due to lack of warmth and overcontrol, adversely affect children's mental health.
Purpose. This study examines the relationship between economic poverty and the mental health of children and adolescents, exploring the possible mediating role in it, of the parenting practices of Greek parents.
Method. For this purpose, a cross-sectional study has been carried out on the phenomenon of the economic crisis that has hit Greece in recent years and its impact on mental health. The survey included 54 families (mean age of children, 12.8 years, SD = 2.6 years) of low socioeconomic background from the family and child support centers of SOS children's villages. Children completed: a) the financial data questionnaire, b) the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, c) the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire/Short Version and their parents completed: a) the Demographic and Economic questionnaire, b) the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, c) the General Health Questionnaire -28, and d) the Parental Stress Index/ Short Form.
Results. Findings suggested that there is a negative link between the economic distress of families with the mental health of both children-adolescents and their parents. Specifically it was observed that individual characteristics of parents, such as low mental sufficiency (p=0,030) and high stress (p=0,036) about their parental role, influence the parenting practices they use. Moreover it was found that parenting practices affect the mental health of children and adolescents (p=0,015 and p=0,033). Τhe mediating role of parenting typology between family poverty and children’s mental health was not found.
Conclusion. In conclusion, the findings of the present study may not confirm the mediating contribution of parenting practices to the relationship between economic poverty and the mental health of children and adolescents, but reveal significant isolated correlations between these three variables. They show that both poverty and authoritarian parenting have a negative impact on children's mental health. This knowledge can help shape appropriate community programs, through which modern Greek families will understand their parenting role and cultivate their mental wellbeing.
Keywords:
Poverty, Parental typology, Parental stress, Parent’s mental health, Children’s adolescent’s mental health
