A new report shows that children raised by conservative parents are at lower risk of mental health problems than those with progressive upbringings.
The nonpartisan study was conducted by the Brookings Institution, Gallup and the Institute for Family Studies and finds that while parenting style ultimately determines relationships with children, there are differences between liberal and conservative parents.
When surveyed, only 55 percent of teens with liberal parents said their mental health was good or excellent, 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 than 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 growing child.
A new report shows that children raised by conservative parents are at lower risk of mental health problems than young people with more progressive upbringings
“Very conservative parents, on average, have the strongest relationships with their adolescent children, and liberals have the worst relationships,” Rothwell claims.
The study attempted to examine the parent-child relationship from both sides by asking questions to both parents and children.
“This association between conservatism and parenting remains significant even after accounting for an extensive list of parental demographic and socioeconomic measures,” he writes.
Rothwell contends that conservative parents are more likely to use traditionally more effective parenting strategies than liberal ones. Conservatives are more likely to “discipline their children effectively while simultaneously showing affection and responding to their needs.”
The study suggests that conservative parents also value their own marriage more highly, which leads to better relationships with their teenage children.
Parents who use an “authoritarian” parenting style have mentally healthier children, whereas conservatives are more likely to do so.
There are two parenting styles that Rothwell says lead to poor outcomes: “authoritarian” and “permissive.”
“Authoritarian” is described in the study as “warm, accommodating and rule-bound, disciplined upbringing.” “Authoritarian” is more likely to be seen as “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 state of emergency for child and adolescent mental health” in 2021.
They found that 42 percent of all high school students felt “persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness,” including 60 percent of teenage girls.
From 2007 to 2021, the suicide rate among youth increased by an incredible 62 percent.
They also argue that COVID has had a detrimental impact on youth mental health, with teenagers dying of despair at a rate 18 times higher than that 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 state of emergency for child and adolescent mental health” in 2021
“Mental health problems in early adolescence are precursors to mental health problems in adulthood, with far-reaching implications for individuals, families, communities, and society,” Rothwell writes.
“A person's ability to establish and maintain relationships and to participate productively and competently in social affairs depends largely on the mental state of the individual during adolescence.”
Rothwell sharply criticizes the CDC for “doing little” to acknowledge the impact of COVID on young people’s mental health.
“Instead,” Rothwell writes, “the agency emphasizes diagnosis, access to mental health services, and prevention of racial/ethnic discrimination as among the most important mental health issues for young people.”
The CDC has not yet responded to the study's results.