Influence of deprivation on emotional development

Abstract 

Emotional and mental health problems in childhood are among the most important causes of childhood morbidity and disability, with increasingly recognized adverse effects into adulthood. Although the social patterning of child mental health problems has been widely recognized, attention has focused mainly on family and parental level factors correlating with adverse outcomes. This paper considers the background or distal socio-economic factors influencing child mental health. The extent and consistency of the social gradient in adverse child mental health outcomes is demonstrated using UK and Canadian data. An explanation of the social gradient based on the cumulative and additive effects of risk and protective factors, that are themselves socially patterned, is discussed. The implications of the social gradient for prevention and intervention are considered, with particular reference to practical measures which can be taken by paediatricians to modify the adverse effects of material deprivation on the mental health of children.

Keywords: child mental health, social gradient, prevention, social deprivation

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