ArticleBMC psychology2016
Effect of household size on mental problems in children: results from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort study.
Article in BMC psychology, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's mental health: A systematic review.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2022Pooled it
- Early Childhood Anxiety and Maternal Factors: Associations with State and Trait Anxiety in a Greek Cohort of Preschoolers.Medical sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Mental Health Status Among Healthcare Professionals in a Master of Public Health Program at a Higher Education Institution in Bangladesh: A Cross-Sectional Study.Health services insights · 2026Article
- Prevalence and associated factors of Depression and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among internally displaced children in Nigeria.African health sciences · 2025Article
- Association between poor mental health in mothers and child stunting: a population-based cross-sectional study in Rwanda.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Article
- Associations between sociodemographic exposures, growth and development during infancy with development at the age of eight years among children: Analysis of a maternal education trial in rural Uganda.Journal of global health · 2024Article
- Triple Interactions Between the Environment, Brain, and Behavior in Children: An ABCD Study.Biological psychiatry · 2024Article
- Childhood cognitive ability and self-harm and suicide in later life.SSM - population health · 2024Article
- Trends in Mental Wellbeing of US Children, 2019-2022: Erosion of Mental Health Continued in 2022.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024Article
- Burden and predictors of anxiety disorder among HIV patients on ART in Nairobi Kenya.PLOS mental health · 2024Article
- Associations of parental mental disorders and age with childhood mental disorders: a population-based cohort study with four million offspring.European child & adolescent psychiatry · 2023Article
- An Exploratory Study of Verbal and Non-Verbal Communication in Saudi Arabian Families.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Geographic variation and sociodemographic correlates of prescription psychotropic drug use among children and youth in Ontario, Canada: a population-based study.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Cumulative Effects of Poverty on Children's Social-Emotional Development: Absolute Poverty and Relative Poverty.Community mental health journal · 2022Article
- Large household reduces dementia mortality: A cross-sectional data analysis of 183 populations.PloS one · 2022Article
- Anxiety and Its Determinants among Undergraduate Students during E-learning in Bangladesh Amid Covid-19.Journal of affective disorders reports · 2021Article
- Classification of psychiatric symptoms using deep interaction networks: the CASPIAN-IV study.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Associations between caregiver mental health and young children's behaviour in a rural Kenyan sample.Global health action · 2021Article
- Psychological Effects and Associated Factors of COVID-19 in a Mexican Sample.Disaster medicine and public health preparedness · 2020Article
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2 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundMost people in industrialized societies grow up in core (parents only) families with few if any siblings. Based on an evolutionary perspective, it may be argued that this environment reflects a mismatch, in that the tribal setting offered a larger number of close affiliates. The present project examined whether this mismatch may have a negative impact on mental health.
methodsWe used data from the Norwegian Mother and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), which includes 114 500 children. The mothers were recruited during pregnancy and followed up with questionnaires as the infants grew older. Correlates between number and type of people living in the household and questions probing mental health were corrected for likely confounders.
resultsThe number of household members correlated with scores on good mental health at all ages tested (3, 5 and 8 years). The effects were distinct, highly significant, and present regardless of how mental issues were scored. The outcome could be attributed to having older siblings, rather than adults beyond parents. The more siblings, and the closer in age, the more pronounced was the effect. Living with a single mother did not make any difference compared to two parents. Girls were slightly more responsive to the presence of siblings than boys. Household pets did not have any appreciable impact.
conclusionA large household is associated with fewer mental problems in children.
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