Department of Social Medicine, National Center for Child Health and Development, 2-10-1 Okura, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 157-8535, Japan.
Department of Health Policy, National Center for Child Health and Development, 2-10-1 Okura, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 157-8535, Japan.
J Affect Disord. 2021 May 1;286:142-148. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.02.065. Epub 2021 Mar 4.
The early life period provides a critical foundation for child health and development, and mothers exert great influence as primary caregivers. Previous studies have shown that single-motherhood is associated with negative child outcomes. In Japan, few studies have addressed the situation faced by single-mothers with young children, such as living conditions and mental health issues.
We utilized nationwide data from the Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions (2016), collected by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and compared mothers from single-mother households with those from two-parent households, with further subdivision by intergenerational cohabitation. Socio-demographic characteristics, lifestyle habits, psychological distress, subjective health status, and stress were examined.
We observed that single-mothers without intergenerational cohabitation seemed to experience harsh living conditions compared to other types of households. Severe psychological distress was observed in 11% of single-mothers without cohabitation compared with 6% among single-mothers with cohabitation and 4% among mothers of two-parent households. Multivariate analysis adjusting for demographic variables showed about a two-fold increased risk of severe psychological distress (OR=2.34, 95% CI: 1.71-3.22) associated with single-mothers without intergenerational cohabitation compared to mothers from two-parent household without cohabitation. Single-mothers without cohabitation tended to smoke and drink alcohol frequently and seemed sleep-deprived.
Due to the cross-sectional design, we could not make inference on causality.
Our study highlighted needs for targeted support for single-mothers without intergenerational cohabitation. Efforts in public health and other related fields may present opportunities to reduce negative intergenerational impacts of adversities among socially vulnerable families.
生命早期为儿童健康和发展奠定了重要基础，母亲作为主要照顾者发挥着巨大的作用。先前的研究表明，单亲家庭与儿童的负面结果有关。在日本，很少有研究涉及有年幼子女的单身母亲的情况，例如她们的生活条件和心理健康问题。
我们利用了日本厚生劳动省收集的全国生活状况综合调查（2016 年）的数据，并将单亲家庭的母亲与双亲家庭的母亲进行了比较，进一步按代际同居情况进行了细分。我们考察了社会人口统计学特征、生活方式习惯、心理困扰、主观健康状况和压力。
我们发现，与其他类型的家庭相比，没有代际同居的单身母亲似乎生活条件较为艰苦。与有同居的单身母亲（6%）和双亲家庭的母亲（4%）相比，没有同居的单身母亲中严重心理困扰的比例为 11%。调整人口统计学变量的多变量分析显示，与没有代际同居的双亲家庭的母亲相比，没有代际同居的单身母亲严重心理困扰的风险增加约两倍（OR=2.34，95%CI：1.71-3.22）。没有同居的单身母亲往往经常吸烟和饮酒，并且似乎睡眠不足。
由于横断面设计，我们无法对因果关系进行推断。
我们的研究强调了需要为没有代际同居的单身母亲提供有针对性的支持。公共卫生和其他相关领域的努力可能为减少社会弱势家庭中不利因素的代际负面影响提供机会。
