2004
Volume 99, Issue 2
  • ISSN: 0025-9454
  • E-ISSN: 1876-2816

Abstract

Abstract

In this article we asked whether the effect of education on the depressive symptoms of their adult children differs between single mothers and mothers with a partner. Previous research has shown that children from low-socioeconomic-status families suffer worse mental health outcomes than those from high-socioeconomic-status families. We therefore expected that adult children from higher educated mothers suffer less from depressive symptoms. Based on Goode’s (1960) role strain theory, we hypothesized this effect to be stronger for children of single mothers. Data from the LISS panel were used to test the hypotheses. A negative effect of mother’s level of education was found, but only for single mothers. As expected, the educational level of single mothers is of more importance in the mental health outcomes of their children, than that of mothers with a partner.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.5117/MEM2024.2.004.RAST
2024-06-01
2024-11-12
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

References

  1. Akhtar-Danesh, N. & Landeen, J. (2007). Relation between depression and sociodemographic factors. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 1, 1-9.
    [Google Scholar]
  2. Albert, P.R. (2015). Why is depression more prevalent in women?Journal of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, 40, 219.
    [Google Scholar]
  3. Alderton, S. & Muller, J. (2000). Working, studying and parenting: multiple roles and role strain. Australian Journal of Career Development, 9, 38-43.
    [Google Scholar]
  4. Amato, P.R. (2005). The impact of family formation change on the cognitive, social, and emotional well-being of the next generation. The Future of Children, 15, 75-96.
    [Google Scholar]
  5. Ballarino, G., Meraviglia, C. & Panichella, N. (2021). Both parents matter. Family-based educational inequality in Italy over the second half of the 20th century. Research in Social Stratification and Mobility, 73, 100597.
    [Google Scholar]
  6. Bernardi, L., Mortelmans, D. & Larenza, O. (2018). Changing lone parents, changing life courses. In L.Bernardi & D.Mortelmans (eds.), Lone parenthood in the life course (pp. 1-26). Springer Open.
    [Google Scholar]
  7. Bradley, R.H. & Corwyn, R.F. (2002). Socioeconomic status and child development. Annual Review of Psychology, 53, 371-399.
    [Google Scholar]
  8. Breitkreuz, R.S., Williamson, D.L. & Raine, K.D. (2010). Dis-integrated policy: welfare-to-work participants’ experiences of integrating paid work and unpaid family work. Community, Work & Family, 13, 43-69.
    [Google Scholar]
  9. Brown, S.L. (2010). Marriage and child well-being: Research and policy perspectives. Journal of Marriage and Family, 72, 1059-1077.
    [Google Scholar]
  10. Carlson, M.J. & Berger, L.M. (2013). What kids get from parents: Packages of parental involvement across complex family forms. Social Service Review, 87, 213-249.
    [Google Scholar]
  11. Erikson, R. (2019). How does education depend on social origin? In R.Becker (ed.), Research Handbook on the Sociology of Education (pp. 35-56). Edward Elgar Publishing.
    [Google Scholar]
  12. Evans-Lacko, S.A.G.S., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., Al-Hamzawi, A., Alonso, J., Benjet, C., Bruffaerts, R., … & Thornicroft, G. (2018). Socio-economic variations in the mental health treatment gap for people with anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders: results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys. Psychological Medicine, 48, 1560-1571.
    [Google Scholar]
  13. Feinstein, L., Sabates, R., Anderson, T.M., Sorhaindo, A. & Hammond, C. (2006). What are the effects of education on health. In R.Desjardins, T.Schuller, L.Feinstein e.a. (eds.), Measuring the effects of education on health and civic engagement: Proceedings of the Copenhagen symposium (pp. 171-354). Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
    [Google Scholar]
  14. Fryers, T., Melzer, D. & Jenkins, R. (2003). Social inequalities and the common mental disorders: a systematic review of the evidence. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 38, 229-237.
    [Google Scholar]
  15. Gilman, S.E., Kawachi, I., Fitzmaurice, G.M. & Buka, S.L. (2002). Socioeconomic status in childhood and the lifetime risk of major depression. International Journal of Epidemiology, 31, 359-367.
    [Google Scholar]
  16. Goode, W.J. (1960). A theory of role strain. American Sociological Review, 25, 483-496.
    [Google Scholar]
  17. Havas, J., Bosma, H., Spreeuwenberg, C. & Feron, F.J. (2010). Mental health problems of Dutch adolescents: the association with adolescents’ and their parents’ educational level. European Journal of Public Health, 20, 258-264.
    [Google Scholar]
  18. Hout, M. (2018). Americans’ occupational status reflects the status of both of their parents. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115, 9527-9532.
    [Google Scholar]
  19. Kalmijn, M. (1994). Mother’s occupational status and children’s schooling. American Sociological Review, 59, 257-275.
    [Google Scholar]
  20. Kalmijn, M. (2015). Family disruption and intergenerational reproduction: Comparing the influences of married parents, divorced parents, and stepparents. Demography, 52, 811-833.
    [Google Scholar]
  21. Kestilä, L., Koskinen, S., Martelin, T., Rahkonen, O., Pensola, T., Aro, H. & Aromaa, A. (2006). Determinants of health in early adulthood: what is the role of parental education, childhood adversities and own education?The European Journal of Public Health, 16, 305-314.
    [Google Scholar]
  22. Korupp, S.E., Ganzeboom, H.B.G. & van der Lippe, T. (2002). Do mothers matter? A comparison of models of the influence of mothers’ and fathers’ educational and occupational status on children’s educational attainment. Quality and Quantity, 36, 17-42.
    [Google Scholar]
  23. Luo, Y. & Waite, L.J. (2005). The impact of childhood and adult SES on physical, mental, and cognitive well-being in later life. The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 60, S93-S101.
    [Google Scholar]
  24. McLaughlin, K.A., Breslau, J., Green, J.G., Lakoma, M.D., Sampson, N.A., Zaslavsky, A. M. & Kessler, R.C. (2011). Childhood socio-economic status and the onset, persistence, and severity of DSM-IV mental disorders in a US national sample. Social Science & Medicine, 73, 1088-1096.
    [Google Scholar]
  25. Meyrose, A.K., Klasen, F., Otto, C., Gniewosz, G., Lampert, T. & Ravens-Sieberer, U. (2018). Benefits of maternal education for mental health trajectories across childhood and adolescence. Social Science & Medicine, 202, 170-178.
    [Google Scholar]
  26. Mooren, F. van der & de Vries, R. (2022). Steeds meer hoogopgeleiden in Nederland: wat voor beroep hebben ze? Geraadpleegd op Centraal Bureau voor de Statistiek website: https://www.cbs.nl/nl-nl/longread/statistische-trends/2022/steeds-meer-hoogopgeleiden-in-nederland-wat-voor-beroep-hebben-ze-?onepage=true.
    [Google Scholar]
  27. Nederlands Jeugdinstituut. (2022, 25november). Cijfers over gezinnen. Geraadpleegd op https://www.nji.nl/cijfers/gezinnen#:.
    [Google Scholar]
  28. Nuijen, J., van Bon-Martens, M., de Graaf, R., ten Have, M., van der Poel, A., de Beurs, D., Nielen, M., Verhaak, P. & Voorrips, L. (2017). Zicht op depressie: de aandoening, preventie en zorg (Themarapportage van de Staat van Volksgezondheid en Zorg). Trimbos-instituut.
    [Google Scholar]
  29. Orcan, F. (2020). Parametric or non-parametric: Skewness to test normality for mean comparison. International Journal of Assessment Tools in Education, 7, 255-265.
    [Google Scholar]
  30. Park, A.L., Fuhrer, R. & Quesnel-Vallée, A. (2013). Parents’ education and the risk of major depression in early adulthood. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 48, 1829-1839.
    [Google Scholar]
  31. Pascale, A., Ehrlich, S. & Hicks-Roof, K. (2022). The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on MotherScholars: A comparative case study of United States and Australian higher education women faculty role strain. Journal of Comparative & International Higher Education, 14 (3a).
    [Google Scholar]
  32. Power, C., Atherton, K., Strachan, D.P., Shepherd, P., Fuller, E., Davis, A., … & Stansfeld, S. (2007). Life-course influences on health in British adults: effects of socio-economic position in childhood and adulthood. International Journal of Epidemiology, 36, 532-539.
    [Google Scholar]
  33. Reiss, F. (2013). Socioeconomic inequalities and mental health problems in children and adolescents: a systematic review. Social Science & Medicine, 90, 24-31.
    [Google Scholar]
  34. Reiss, F., Meyrose, A.K., Otto, C., Lampert, T., Klasen, F. & Ravens-Sieberer, U. (2019). Socioeconomic status, stressful life situations and mental health problems in children and adolescents: Results of the German BELLA cohort-study. PloS one, 14, e0213700.
    [Google Scholar]
  35. Reynolds, J.R. & Ross, C.E. (1998). Social stratification and health: Education’s benefit beyond economic status and social origins. Social Problems, 45, 221-247.
    [Google Scholar]
  36. Rijksoverheid (z.j.). MHPSS wereldwijd in feiten en getallen. Geraadpleegd op: https://www.rijksoverheid.nl/onderwerpen/geestelijke-gezondheidszorg-en-psychosociale-steun-in-noodhulp/mhpss-wereldwijd-in-feiten-en-getallen#:
    [Google Scholar]
  37. Saint-Jacques, M.C. (1996). Role strain prediction in stepfamilies. Journal of Divorce & Remarriage, 24, 51-72.
    [Google Scholar]
  38. Scherpenzeel, A.C. & Das, M. (2010). “True” longitudinal and probability-based internet panels: Evidence from the Netherlands. In M.Das, P.Ester & L.Kaczmirek (eds.), Social and Behavioral Research and the Internet: Advances in Applied Methods and Research Strategies (pp. 77-104). Taylor & Francis.
    [Google Scholar]
  39. Schröder, H., & Ganzeboom, H.B.G. (2014). Measuring and modelling level of education in European societies. European Sociological Review, 30, 119-136.
    [Google Scholar]
  40. Schwartz, O.S., Simmons, J.G., Whittle, S., Byrne, M.L., Yap, M.B., Sheeber, L.B. & Allen, N.B. (2017). Affective parenting behaviors, adolescent depression, and brain development: A review of findings from the Orygen Adolescent Development Study. Child Development Perspectives, 11, 90-96.
    [Google Scholar]
  41. Spencer-Dawe, E. (2005). Lone mothers in employment: Seeking rational solutions to role strain. Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 27, 251-264.
    [Google Scholar]
  42. Stansfeld, S.A., Clark, C., Rodgers, B., Caldwell, T. & Power, C. (2008). Childhood and adulthood socio-economic position and midlife depressive and anxiety disorders. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 192, 152-153.
    [Google Scholar]
  43. Thaning, M. & Hällsten, M. (2020). The end of dominance? Evaluating measures of socio-economic background in stratification research. European Sociological Review, 36, 533-547.
    [Google Scholar]
  44. Trimbos Instituut. (z.j.). Cijfers depressie en suïcide. Geraadpleegd op https://www.trimbos.nl/kennis/cijfers/depressie/.
    [Google Scholar]
  45. Vukojević, M., Zovko, A., Talić, I., Tanović, M., Rešić, B., Vrdoljak, I. & Splavski, B. (2017). Parental socioeconomic status as a predictor of physical and mental health outcomes in children–literature review. Acta Clinica Croatica, 56, 742-748.
    [Google Scholar]
  46. Weinberg, D., Stevens, G.W., Duinhof, E.L. & Finkenauer, C. (2019). Adolescent socioeconomic status and mental health inequalities in the Netherlands, 2001-2017. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16, 3605.
    [Google Scholar]
  47. World Health Organization. (z.j.). Depression. Geraadpleegd op https://www.who.int/health-topics/depression#tab=tab_1.
    [Google Scholar]
  48. World Health Organization. (2017, 30maart). “Depression: let’s talk” says WHO, as depression tops list of causes of ill health [Persbericht]. Geraadpleegd op https://www.who.int/news/item/30-03-2017--depression-let-s-talk-says-who-as-depression-tops-list-of-causes-of-ill-health.
    [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.5117/MEM2024.2.004.RAST
Loading
/content/journals/10.5117/MEM2024.2.004.RAST
Loading

Data & Media loading...

This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error