Impact on Children and families

If families suffer from health issues, such problems might disrupt children's learning, behavioural changes, and social relationships. For instance, parental mental illness may reduce the emotional availability of the parents and place children at risk of attachment problems or behavioural change (Reupert & Maybery, 2014). In contrast, exposure to trauma, abuse, and neglect would alter the development of the brain, how individuals regulate emotions, and how cognitive functioning is (AIHW, 2020).

Being bereaved can cause withdrawal, regression, or greater anxiety levels (Schonfeld & Demaria, 2016). In terms of family structure, substance use would make it difficult for consistent caregiving, resulting in instability and an increased probability of children's endangerment (Dawe et al., 2007). The cumulative effect of these factors impacts school readiness, willingness to learn, and other educational outcomes in the long term (Sylva et al., 2010).

Some of these contexts cause emotional strain for families, with stigma and feelings of isolation. Another set of barriers contribute toward difficulties in seeking assistance: can be a question of services being unavailable, being too expensive, or cultural stigma over seeking mental health help. Such would be the case in rural and remote locations in consideration of distances involved and lack of specialist services to address the matter (Fuller et al., 2020).