Social isolation among mothers caring for Infants in Japan: findings from the Nationwide Survey of healthy parents and children 21

Abstract

Background: Child-rearing isolation may increase the risk of child abuse and negatively affect child development owing to increased urbanization and a decline in family and community support systems. Purpose: This study aimed to identify the prevalence of child-rearing isolation and the related sociodemographic factors among mothers in Japan using data from the Final Survey of Healthy Parents and Children 21. Participants: Mothers of young children attending their health checkups. Methods: Multivariate logistic regression models assessed the association between child-rearing isolation and socio-demographic variables. Data from 69,337 women were analyzed. Results: Mothers who experienced child-rearing isolation comprised 0.2% of all participants. Mothers who were 35 to 39 years old at childbirth (OR = 1.6, CI[1.0, 2.4], p =.036), were unemployed (OR = 1.7, CI[1.3, 2.4], p =.001), had experienced financial difficulty (OR = 1.8, CI[1.3, 2.5], p