The closure of schools during the COVID-19 lockdowns caused significant damage to maternal mental health, according to a new study led by Professor Birgitta Rabe at the University of Essex.
The study used Understanding Society data from the pre-pandemic years alongside data collected during the lockdowns in 2020, and looked at how parents and children were affected by the school closures, comparing how they were before, during and after the first lockdown.
The researchers found that mothers suffered a significant decrease in mental wellbeing – equivalent to the run-up to divorce or their partner losing their job. Fathers’ wellbeing, however, was not affected by whether or not their children returned to school.
The study, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, tracked the impact of schools closing and re-opening, examining the differences to parents of children in reception, year one and year six who were prioritised for return in the summer of 2022, against those whose young children were still at home.
Professor Rabe said: “Though the circumstances of the pandemic were unique, our findings indicate that childcare may have a role in supporting mothers’ basic mental health that has not previously been recognised. This should be factored into future cost-benefit analyses considering expansions or contractions of childcare availability or changes in price. It is also a relevant consideration when planning school opening times and in making the case for improving childcare provision during school holidays.
“Our results contribute to a growing body of evidence about the strongly gendered effects of the pandemic and the roles played by mothers and fathers in unpaid household work more generally. Consideration should be given to policy interventions that could be effective in encouraging a more even split of responsibilities between mothers and fathers, so that mothers are less likely to bear the full impact of breaks in childcare, or other shocks to the family.
“Such policies could include equal parenting leave entitlements, including non-transferable parental leave for fathers, as well as promoting flexible working and family-friendly working cultures.”
The effect on mothers’ mental health does not appear to be lasting. In July 2020, at the beginning of the school summer holiday, the effect is only about half as large as in June 2020 and in September and November 2020 – when all year groups were able to attend school – it is no longer apparent at all.
The report, School availability and family wellbeing, by Jo Blanden, Claire Crawford, Laura Fumagalli and Birgitta Rabe is published by the Institute for Social and Economic Research
Read more about this research project
The research was discussed at a Nuffield Foundation event, Lessons from the pandemic: family well-being, childcare and gender, which was recorded, and is now available on YouTube. It also received coverage in Nursery World
Covid 19EducationFamily and householdsHealth and wellbeing
