A study covered by Reuters points out one of the biggest risk factors for psychological problems among mothers: lack of emotional support. Certainly this could be filed in the “obvious” category, but at least there are some new numbers to back it up.

Women who reported feeling a lack of emotional support (they had no one to rely on for day-to-day emotional help with parenting) represented nearly 14 percent of the total sample and were 3.4 times more likely to report being in poor mental health, the researchers found.

It is easy to chop apart the methodology in the study, but in sticking with the main point, emotional support is one of the most basic human needs. Being supported and understood is absolutely a protective and healing factor for most people. Furthermore, people in general are at greater risk for psychological problems without adequate support, not just mothers, but the extra toll for mothers really comes when their children also suffer from it.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 31 May 2007
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.