COVID-19 driving mental distress for parents of primary school kids: new study

Working from home and home schooling likely to be causing parents of primary school children to report higher levels of mental distress

Work-family conflict is driving a surge in the mental distress of more than a million parents with primary school aged children during COVID-19, especially fathers, a new study finds.

Measures to limit the spread of coronavirus such as working from home and school closures may be affecting the mental wellbeing of Australians, particularly parents, more than worries about their finances or employment, the Melbourne Institute research paper concludes.

Its survey of 1200 people taken in late July finds the proportion of employed Australians overall reporting a high level of mental distress jumped sharply from 7 per cent pre-COVID to 18 per cent. It is now almost as high as for unemployed Australians.

“Employed parents with primary school aged children are now more distressed than non-employed parents with similar aged children. This is a striking finding, as there is usually a strong relationship between having a job and being in good mental health,” research author Julie Moschion said.

“Nearly 1.5m Australians are working parents of a child aged 5 to 11, and according to our estimates, over a quarter of them are currently experiencing high mental distress,” Dr Moschion said.

Fathers are particularly affected, working or non-working. Pre-COVID-19 only 7 per cent of men with children reported high levels of mental distress, a figure that now sits at 25 per cent of fathers whose youngest child is aged 0-4 and 33 per cent of fathers whose youngest child is aged 5-11.

Mothers now have higher levels of mental distress than women without children, a turnaround from pre-COVID figures. Among mothers, mental distress has increased most markedly, from 9 per cent to 22 per cent, for those with older children (youngest child aged 12-18).

“The extra load imposed on parents has major effects for parents’ mental health. This bears great risks for their … ability to create a safe and thriving environment for their children,” Melbourne Institute senior research fellow Barbara Broadway said.

Employed parents of primary school aged children have ­experienced the most profound change from before the pandemic, suggesting that instead of finances, “this phenomenon is caused by family-work conflict”, the report found. “Working parents of schoolchildren have had to unexpectedly organise homeschooling while maintaining productivity, and this would have been most stressful for those with young schoolchildren.”

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