title: Could gender equality in parental leave harm off-springs' mental health? A registry study of the Swedish parental/child cohort of 1988/89.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Mental ill-health among children and young adults is a growing public health problem and research into causes involves consideration of family life and gender practice. This study aimed at exploring the association between parents' degree of gender equality in childcare and children's mental ill-health.
  
  
  METHODS
  The population consisted of Swedish parents and their firstborn child in 1988-1989 (N = 118 595 family units) and the statistical method was multiple logistic regression. Gender equality of childcare was indicated by the division of parental leave (1988-1990), and child mental ill-health was indicated by outpatient mental care (2001-2006) and drug prescription (2005-2008), for anxiety and depression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall finding was that boys with gender traditional parents (mother dominance in childcare) have lower risk of depression measured by outpatient mental care than boys with gender-equal parents, while girls with gender traditional and gender untraditional parents (father dominance in childcare) have lower risk of anxiety measured by drug prescription than girls with gender-equal parents.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study suggests that unequal parenting regarding early childcare, whether traditional or untraditional, is more beneficial for offspring's mental health than equal parenting. However, further research is required to confirm our findings and to explore the pathways through which increased gender equality may influence child health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, SE-171 76 Stockholm, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Norström
authors.forename: Lene
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lindberg
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Månsdotter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001008:Anxiety Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D016241:Child of Impaired Parents / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005220:Fathers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D016524:Parental Leave / Q000191:economics / Q000592:standards* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011247:Pregnancy; D011287:Prejudice; D012042:Registries; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology