Parental Precarious Employment and the Mental Health of Adolescents: A Swedish Registry Study

Amanda Aronsson, Norwegian University of Science and Technology
Emelie Thern, Karolinska Institutet
Nuria Matilla-Santander, Karolinska Institutet
Signild Kvart, Karolinska Institutet
Julio César Hernando-Rodriguez, Karolinska Institutet
Kathryn Badarin, Karolinska Institutet
Mireia Julià, Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Samira Alfayumi-Zeadna, MAP Centre for Urban Health Solutions, Li Ka Shing Knowledge Institute
Virginia Gunn, Karolinska Institutet
Bertina Kreshpaj, University of Copenhagen
Carles Muntaner, University of Toronto
Theo Bodin, Karolinska Institutet
Lluís Mangot-Sala , Karolinska Institutet

Objective: This study investigates the association between parental precarious employment (PE) and the mental health of their adolescent children, with a particular focus on how the association differs based on whether the mother or father is in PE. Materials and Methods: This register-based study used the Swedish Work, Illness, and Labour-market Participation (SWIP) cohort. A sample of n=117,437 children aged 16 years at baseline (2005) were followed up until 2009 (the year they turned 20). A multidimensional construct of PE (SWE-ROPE 2.0) was used to classify parental employment as either “precarious”, “substandard” or “standard employment”. The outcome, adolescents’ mental disorders, was measured as a diagnosis of a mental disorder using ICD-10 codes or by prescribed psychotropic drugs using ATC codes. Crude and adjusted Cox regression models produced Hazard Ratios (HR) with 95 % confidence intervals (95% CI) to estimate the association between parental PE and adolescents’ mental health. Results: Adolescents with parents in PE exhibited a higher risk of developing mental disorders. The association was more pronounced for paternal PE (HR 1.22 95% CI 1.10-1.35) compared to maternal PE (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.00-1.21). These associations largely persisted after adjusting for important confounders, including parental mental health. Conclusion: This study addresses a significant gap in the literature on parental PE and adolescents’ mental health. As PE is growing more common across countries, this study provides relevant insights into the intergenerational role that parental low-quality employment may have in terms of mental health within families. Keywords: Adolescent Health, Health Inequalities, Intergenerational

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 Presented in Session P2. Families, Fertility, and the Life Course 2