Analytical insights into the bi-directional relationship between a child’s mental health and their parents’ mental health. The insights form part of a British Academy-funded collaboration with Loughborough University, using linked data to explore the factors associated with children’s mental health. The analysis is for England only, using Hospital Episode Statistics, Emergency Care Dataset data, National Pupil Database, and NHS Talking Therapies (for adults), linked to Census 2021. We use linked contextual data (local greenspace and index of multi-deprivation ranks) to control for the impact of a child’s environment. The insights include the difference in the impact of the mental health of mothers compared with fathers, which is a unique element of the analysis. They also include the effect of child mental ill-health on their academic attainment, both directly and indirectly, via school absences.

From:: Office for National Statistics
Published: 18 March 2026

Applies to England

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