Parental conflict ‘damages children's mental health'

A review carried out by the Early Intervention Foundation (EIF) and Professor Gordon Harold, of the University of Sussex, for the Department for Work and Pensions, found that children’s wellbeing can be affected by the quality of the parental relationship.
 
It found that unresolved parental conflict can affect children’s long-term mental health and wellbeing while also adversely affecting wider aspects of family functioning, including parenting quality.
 
However the EIF said that support aimed at promoting positive inter-parental relationships is “a neglected area for early intervention services”.

The report states that evidence from internationally-run programmes suggests there is the potential to help improve aspects of couple relationships and parenting practices. The EIF is calling for greater national investment in developing and evaluating which services work best to support relationships between parents in different circumstances. 

Carey Oppenheim, chief executive of the Early Intervention Foundation, said the study highlights the impact of parental relationships can have on the long-term life chances of children.

“Yet, improving the relationships between parents is not taken account of in many children’s, maternity and family services,” she said.
 
“More needs to be done to encourage couples to seek support and make services available to them. We urgently need to develop our knowledge of what types of services and interventions work to support inter-parental relationships in different contexts.
 
“This is vital to ensure we avoid missing a crucial piece of the jigsaw in improving children’s mental health and future life chances.”

Earlier this year Prime Minister David Cameron said parenting classes will be made more accessible to parents as part of government plans to tackle poverty and improve children's life chances.

Last week it emerged that it plans to publish details of its Life Chances Strategy in the summer, of which future government policy on children’s centres will be part.