| সংক্ষিপ্ত: | <p><b>Background</b></p>
Previous evidence suggests child mental health is associated with family income, with poorer mental health amongst those in less affluent families. This DPhil research investigates the relationship between family income and child mental health from early childhood to adolescence, potential variation with age, and the factors that may explain the relationship.</p>
<p><b>Methods</b></p>
<p>Three complementary analytical approaches were employed to analyse data for a consistent cohort of children when they were aged 3, 5, 7, 11, 14 and 17 years, using data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Cross-sectional analyses were used to examine the association between family income and child mental health while exploring the role of child, family, and peer-related factors in elucidating the association. Panel data analyses were used to investigate the variation of the longitudinal association over time. Finally, the concentration index approach, coupled with its decomposition method, was used to quantify the degree of income inequalities in child mental health and analyse underlying factors contributing to the inequalities.</p>
<p><b>Results</b></p>
<p>Higher family income was associated with fewer child mental health problems; the magnitude of this gradient varied with age, being larger in adolescence than in childhood. The strength of the association was reduced after adjustment for factors reflecting Parental Stress and Investment theories, with the larger attenuation driven by Parental Stress factors. Accounting for peer-related factors during adolescence did not markedly attenuate the association further. The presence of income-related inequalities in child mental health was observed in childhood and adolescence, affirming the reported link between income and child mental health. Maternal depression and parent-child relationship emerged as the key contributors to inequalities across all ages.</p>
<p><b>Conclusions</b></p>
<p>The income gradient and income inequalities in child mental health observed in this research, along with the factors that underpin the relationship, suggest that income-support interventions may be a way to reduce child mental health problems, while also benefiting the wider family. Adolescence emerges as an important stage for implementing income interventions, offering a greater potential for reducing child mental health problems compared to other periods.</p>
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