Children of conservative parents are at lower risk of mental illness, study shows: Only 55 percent of adolescents with liberal guardians report 'good or excellent' mental health – compared to 77 percent of those from right-wing households
A new report shows that children raised by conservative parents have a lower risk of mental health problems than children with progressive upbringings.
The unbiased study was conducted by the Brookings Institution, Gallup and the Institute for Family Studies and notes that while parenting style ultimately determines relationships with children most, there are differences between liberal and conservative parents.
When asked, only 55 percent of adolescents with liberal parents reported good or excellent mental health, while 77 percent of those with conservative or very conservative parents said they had good or excellent mental health.
“Adolescents with very conservative parents are 16 to 17 percentage points more likely to have good or excellent mental health compared to their peers with very liberal parents.”
There is also a 14 percentage point gap between “very liberal” and “very conservative” parents when it comes to whether they have a good relationship with their adolescent child.
A new report shows that children raised by conservative parents have a lower risk of mental health problems than those with more progressive upbringings.
“Very conservative parents, on average, have the strongest relationships with their adolescent children, and liberals experience the worst,” Rothwell claims.
The study attempted to explore the parent-child relationship from both sides, asking both parents and children survey questions.
“This relationship between conservatism and parenting remains significant even after controlling for an extensive list of parental demographic and socioeconomic measures,” he writes.
Rothwell claims that conservative parents are more likely to use traditionally more effective parenting strategies than liberals. Conservatives are more likely to “discipline their children effectively, while also showing affection and being responsive to their needs.”
The study believes that conservative parents also value their own marriages more, which makes for better relationships with children as they become teenagers.
Parents who use an “authoritative” parenting style have mentally healthier children, something conservatives are more likely to adopt.
There are two parenting styles that lead to bad outcomes, according to Rothwell: “authoritarian” and “permissive.”
'Authorative' is defined by the study as 'warm, responsive and rule-bound, disciplined parenting.' 'Authoritarian' is seen as more 'cold or harsh'.
The study was conducted after the Children's Hospital Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry declared “a national emergency in child and adolescent mental health care” in 2021.
They found that 42 percent of all high school students experienced “persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness,” including 60 percent of teenage girls.
Between 2007 and 2021, the number of suicides among young people increased by as much as 62 percent.
They also claim that COVID has been damaging to adolescent mental health, with teens dying from despair at 18 times the rate of the virus between 2020 and 2023.
The study was conducted after the Children's Hospital Association, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry declared “a national child and adolescent mental health emergency” in 2021.
“Mental health problems in early adolescence predict mental health problems in adulthood, with far-reaching consequences for individuals, families, communities and society,” Rothwell writes.
“A person's ability to develop and maintain relationships and to participate productively and competently in social affairs depends largely on the individual's mental state during adolescence.”
Rothwell is highly critical of the CDC for “doing little” to acknowledge COVID's effect on youth mental health.
“Instead,” Rothwell writes, “the agency emphasizes diagnosis, access to mental health care, and avoidance of racial/ethnic discrimination as among the most important issues in youth mental health care.”
The CDC has not yet responded to the study's findings.