The effect of social anxiety,generalized anxiety,depression and substance abuse on child support payment compliance among non-custodial parents |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Kempe Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Child Abuse and Neglect, University of Colorado School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, 13123 East 16th Avenue, B390, Aurora, CO 80045, United States;2. International Child Rights Center, 21, Sajik-ro 12-gil, Jongno-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea;1. Department of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, 1994 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55108, United States;2. Human Capital Research Collaborative, University of Minnesota, 301 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States;3. Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, 51 E River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States;4. Humphrey School of Public Affairs, University of Minnesota, 301 19th Avenue South, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States;5. Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development, University of Minnesota, 206 Burton Hall, Minneapolis, MN 55455, United States;1. Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, TW20 0EX, UK;2. Children''s HIV Association, The Wool Hall. 12 St. Thomas Street, Bristol BS1 6JJ, UK;1. University of Minnesota School of Social Work, 1404 Gortner Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA;2. University of Minnesota Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, 1404 Gortner Ave., St. Paul, MN 55108, USA |
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| Abstract: | Millions of children live with custodial parents (CPs) who have child support court orders for the non-custodial parent (NCP) to provide payments to the CP for care of the children. Unfortunately, less than half of CPs receives full child support. A key issue influencing the failure to pay child support is NCP unemployment. Despite a clear association between unemployment and several mental disorders, the nature and prevalence of mental disorders has not been investigated in the NCP population. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between mental health and substance use problems among non-custodial parents and their payment of child support. The study also investigated whether unemployment mediated the relationship between these variables.Surveys that included validated screening instruments to assess for generalized anxiety, social anxiety, depression, and substance use disorders were administered to a convenience sample of 633 NCPs. Survey respondents were matched with state support payment information.The results indicated that depression, generalized anxiety, social anxiety and substance use problems were present at a much higher rate than 12-month rates of these conditions found in the general population. This study also confirmed the strong association between child support payments and employment. Employment mediated the relationship between mental health problems and child support payments. The findings suggest that non-compliant NCPs, particularly those who are also unemployed, may experience clinically significant mental health conditions that contribute to unemployment and potentially, payment non-compliance. Future studies could explore if providing mental health assessment and employment-focused treatment for mental health-related barriers to employment may increase employment and child support compliance for NCPs, thereby improving children's economic stability and well-being. |
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