The cost-of-living crisis is leaving mums most at risk

The crunch is taking a toll 

Women and mothers are more likely to experience financial stress and mental health issues. Image: Getty

The ongoing cost of living crisis is disproportionately impacting mothers, new data reveals. 

 

The mental health of Australian women and specifically, Australian mothers, is consistently lower than any other social group according to new data. 

Revealed as part of the 2023 TELUS Health Mental Health Index, the data collected throughout February 2023 shows that for a third year in a row the mental health scores of women are below men, and that the mental health scores of parents are below non-parents. 

Where men reported an average mental health score of 66.6, the score for women dropped to 59.7 in 2023, and when it comes to financial wellbeing, the average score for women was 56.5, much lower than men’s 63.4.

Compared to the April 2020 Mental Health Index, the latest index showed the mental health score of people with children is 58.9, while those without children have an average score of 64.6. 

Using a scale of zero to 100, the Mental Health Index considers scores between zero to 49 to be distressed, between 50 to 79 to be strained and a score of 80 to 100 to be optimal.

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Designed to track the mental health status of Australians across a range of factors like employment, family dynamics and financial status, the 2023 Index shows that currently 78 per cent of working adults are experiencing a moderate or high mental health risk, marking a return to the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when 87 per cent of people reported feeling the same way.  

“Financial wellbeing is highly correlated with mental wellbeing,” Jamie MacLennan, Senior Vice President and Managing Director of APAC at TELUS Health says, explaining that “as financial wellbeing improves, so do mental health scores.” 

Given the ongoing cost of living crisis, which has seen rent and mortgage prices skyrocket, as well as an increase in utility and grocery bills, stagnating wages and the threat of a recession, it’s hardly surprising that so many parents are feeling the strain and struggling to stay optimistic. 

“While we see financial wellbeing scores improve with age, there are demographics continually slipping through the cracks in the system, with women and households with children continually reporting substantially lower scores which is concerning,” MacLennan says. 

When it comes to financial breakdowns specifically, the Index revealed that 45 per cent of Australians have felt overwhelmed by debt within recent months and a further 45 per cent feel unsure or concerned about money and personal finances.

What’s more, the study found parents are twice as likely as people without kids to dip into their savings to maintain their standard of living, and that parents are 70 per cent more likely to find work in the gig economy as a supplement for fixed incomes. 

While the Federal Government currently offers free advice to those in need via the Financial Information Services, experts continue to call on more to be done to support Australians amid cost of living pressures, particularly parents. 

Experts continue to call on more to be done to support Australians amid cost of living pressures. Image: Getty

Earlier this month, Treasurer Jim Chalmers delivered his first federal budget for Australia, which acknowledged the health of Australians is suffering as the cost of living crisis looms large.

“Families are being forced into a lose-lose choice between getting the help they need or paying their bills,” Chalmers said, adding, “it means more problems go undiagnosed or untreated.”

Given this, the budget has committed $3.5 billion to bulk billing incentives that will provide an estimated 11.6 million Australians free access to their local GPs when they’re sick and in need of help. They've also announced a new Medicare rebate, committing $98.2 million for a new subsidy on 60-minute long consultations with GPs.

As for mental health, there's no quick fix, and the number of Medicare-funded psychology appointments will stay at 10, after it was reduced from the 20 Australians had access to throughout the pandemic. However, in an attempt to meet the runaway demand for mental health specialists, Chalmers did announce the government will fund 500 new postgraduate psychology places, as well as 500 internships and 2000 supervisor training sessions for psychologists-in-training in a bid to create greater long-term access to specialists.

As for the impact this will have on Australians', particularly mothers', scores on the Mental Health Index? Only time will tell. 

Originally published as The cost-of-living crisis is leaving mums most at risk