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- Overall mental health of mothers has “significantly declined” since 2016, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association
- Nearly 200,000 female parents of children up to age 17 were asked to self-report their mental and physical conditions, and the results found a 64% increase in “fair/poor” mental health
- While fathers also saw a small decline in mental health quality, it was not as significant, the study found
Mental health of mothers has “significantly declined” since 2016 — and their physical health is also suffering — while fathers are not experiencing the same radical drop.
For a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 198, 417 female parents of children up to age 17 were asked to self-report their mental and physical condition from the years 2016 to 2023, on a four-category scale: excellent, very good, good and fair/poor.
The results found “a 63.6% relative increase” in “fair/poor” mental health for every mom, but for some mothers, the struggle was more pronounced. “Significantly worse physical and mental health status was observed among mothers of lower educational attainment, mothers with uninsured or publicly insured children, US-born mothers, and single parents,” the study found.
Only a quarter of the mothers said they were in “excellent” mental health.
When it came to physical health, the study says “all minoritized racial groups reported significantly higher rates of fair/poor physical health than non-Hispanic White individuals.”
The study notes that when it came to fathers, “male parents had better physical health status and substantially better mental health status during all years studied.” Specifically, 8.5% of moms reported ”fair/poor mental health” (compared to 4.5% for fathers).
Last year, then-Surgeon General Dr. Vivek H. Murthy called parental mental health “a serious public health concern for our country.” “Parents who feel pushed to the brink deserve more than platitudes,” he said. “They need tangible support.”
The researchers conclude that “investments are needed to investigate and address the underlying causes of mental health decline among US mothers, especially those of low socioeconomic status,” given how “self-reported mental health was found to have significantly declined for female parents.”
On Reddit, commenters agreed with the study’s findings — pointing out that they’re not shocking.
“Water is wet. Women’s mental health declines as society showcases how much they dont give a f— about women. What a f—— shocker,” the top comment read. “We currently have a woman who is braindead in Georgia being kept alive as an incubator since she was 9 weeks pregnant. We should be ashamed.”
“Country that offers no support to mothers starts to notice said mothers are unhappy. Wild,” another chimed in.
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