9 in 10 parents want mental health education taught in school

Washington, DC, December 15, 2021

A new Ipsos poll, conducted on behalf of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), finds that most parents support mental health education being taught in schools, and a majority support mental health days for students. The poll also shows that many parents are concerned about their child's mental health, but few parents reporting seeking help. 

Detailed Findings

Some of the key findings of the poll include:

• Parents report they and their children were excited for the return of in-person learning/childcare (84%).
• Parents overwhelmingly put their children’s mental well-being over academic performance (89%) and support mental health education in school (87%).
• A majority of parents are most likely to say their children’s behavior and feelings have not changed since the beginning of the pandemic. However, those who report changes in behavior are more likely to say their child is doing healthy activities, like exercising (25%) or getting enough sleep (16%), less frequently, and is experiencing negative emotions, like irritation (19%), stress (20%), and anxiety (20%), more frequently.
• Many parents report being confident in their ability to identify mental health challenges in themselves and their children (88%), but a majority describe themselves as 'somewhat confident' (55%).
• However, many parents report wanting more information on how to identify the warning signs for mental health challenges (74%).

About the Study

This Ipsos poll was conducted November 9-17, 2021, on behalf of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), using the KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a representative sample of 1,010 U.S. Adults (ages 18 and over), who are parents to children 0-17 years old. The study was conducted in English. The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race/ethnicity, education, census region, metropolitan status, and household income. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2021 March Supplement of the Current Population Survey (CPS). The weighting categories were as follows:

• Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49 and 50+)
• Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other or 2+ Races Non-Hispanic, Hispanic)
• Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor or higher)
• Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West) by Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
• Metropolitan Status (Metro, Non-Metro)
• Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+

The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.29 for all adults. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.

About Ipsos

Ipsos is the world’s third largest Insights and Analytics company, present in 90 markets and employing more than 18,000 people.

Our passionately curious research professionals, analysts and scientists have built unique multi-specialist capabilities that provide true understanding and powerful insights into the actions, opinions and motivations of citizens, consumers, patients, customers or employees. We serve more than 5000 clients across the world with 75 business solutions.

Founded in France in 1975, Ipsos is listed on the Euronext Paris since July 1st, 1999. The company is part of the SBF 120 and the Mid-60 index and is eligible for the Deferred Settlement Service (SRD).

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