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Three-generation households and child mental health in European countries

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Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

To evaluate the associations between the presence of a grand parent at home that is three-generation household, with children mental health in diverse countries whether this situation is frequent or not.

Methods

Data from the School Children Mental Health in Europe cross-sectional survey in six countries (n = 4582) were used to examine the association between three-generation households and child mental health across Europe. The parent and teacher Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was combined to assess child mental clinical problems.

Results

Overall, 25.13% of European families live with at least one grandparent: 5.46% in Western and 29.70% in Eastern Europe. Controlling for key sociodemographic variables and for country of residence, the presence of a grandparent is associated with an increased risk for child mental health problems in the total sample (OR 1.37, p = 0.002). In two-parent homes, the effect of the presence of a grandparent is significant (OR 1.40, p = 0.026), while it is not in single-parent homes. In each country, the presence of a grandparent is a risk for either externalizing or internalizing problems.

Conclusions

Programs may be developed to educate elderly people to better respect their children’s role as parents so having a grandparent in the home can become an asset for family members rather than a burden.

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Acknowledgements

Funding was provided by Directorate-General for Health and Consumers (Grant no. 2006336).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Santé Publique, EA 4057 Université Paris Descartes, Paris, France

    Viviane Kovess Masfety

  2. Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Carlijn Aarnink & Roy Otten

  3. The Romanian League for Mental Health, Bucharest, Romania

    Adina Bitfoi

  4. New Bulgarian University, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Zlatka Mihova

  5. Clinic of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Vilnius, Vilnius, Lithuania

    Sigita Lesinskiene

  6. Psychiatric Unit, Department of Public Health, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy

    Mauro Giovanni Carta

  7. University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany

    Dietmar Goelitz

  8. Institut Universitaire de France, Université de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France

    Mathilde Husky

Authors
  1. Viviane Kovess Masfety
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  2. Carlijn Aarnink
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  3. Roy Otten
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  4. Adina Bitfoi
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  5. Zlatka Mihova
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  6. Sigita Lesinskiene
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  7. Mauro Giovanni Carta
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  8. Dietmar Goelitz
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  9. Mathilde Husky
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Viviane Kovess Masfety.

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The authors declared to have no conflicts of interest.

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Masfety, V.K., Aarnink, C., Otten, R. et al. Three-generation households and child mental health in European countries. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol 54, 427–436 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-018-1640-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00127-018-1640-9

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