- An estimated 2.9 million young people in the UK[10] live with parents who have symptoms of anxiety and depression. This figure doesn’t account for parents who have other mental illnesses – such as schizophrenia, personality disorders and post-traumatic stress disorders – so we anticipate the number of young people affected to be much greater.
- In an average class — six children have a parent with mental health problems[9].
- Without intervention, 70% of children affected by parental mental illness are predicted to suffer from mental illness themselves.
- Adults who experienced a mentally ill parent in childhood report higher levels of abuse, neglect and isolation.
- Some 68% of women and 57% of men with mental illness are parents. [1]
- Up to 20% of women develop a mental illness during pregnancy or within a year of giving birth. [2]
- Over one-third of first-time fathers are concerned about their mental health. [3]
- One in four adults will experience a mental illness at some point each year. [4]
- Perinatal mental health problems cost the UK £8.1 billion each year. Nearly three-quarters of this cost relates to the impact on the child rather than the mother. [5]
- Parental mental illness is one of the 10 most powerful sources of toxic stress.
- There is no statutory provision for children whose parents have ill mental health.
- Some four in five young carers go unidentified. [6]
- In the UK there is no recognised term for young people affected by parental mental illness and the government keeps no statistics about their numbers.
- Early intervention can mitigate the negative impact of parental mental illness.
- Between 2010-2017 there was a 40% real-term cut in early intervention spending. [7]
- The total cost of late intervention is estimated at £17 billion per year. [8]
References
- Parental mental illness: The impact on children and adolescents, Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2016
- The costs of perinatal mental health problems, Centre for Mental Health and London School of Economics, 2014
- National Childbirth Trust, Dads in distress, 2015.
- Adult psychiatric morbidity in England, 2007: results of a household survey. The NHS Information Centre for health and social care.
- The costs of perinatal mental health problems, Centre for Mental Health and London School of Economics, 2014
- The support provided to Young Carers in England, Children’s Commissioner’s survey, December 2016
- Turning the Tide, Children’s Society, 2017
- The Cost of Late Intervention: Early Intervention Foundation analysis, 2016
- Children’s Commissioner’s report 2018, ‘Are the shouting because of me?’
- Children’s Commissioner’s Vulnerability Report 2019
