The Co-SPACE project, led by the University of Oxford, has published a report outlining the changes in child mental health and parental financial stress from March 2020 to October 2022. Findings from parents/carer reports within the Co-SPACE sample include:
- On average, children and young people’s behavioural and emotional difficulties have decreased since March 2022.
- Children and young people’s attentional difficulties have, on average, remained unchanged since March 2022.
- Children with SEN/ND and those from low-income families and single-adult households continue to show elevated behavioural, emotional, and attentional difficulties relative to the rest of the Co-SPACE sample.
- Parent/carer financial stress decreased during the first UK national lockdown but increased since (at its highest so far in October 2022).
- Financial stress was higher among parents of children with SEN/ND, from low-income families and single-adult households compared to the whole sample in the Co-SPACE study.