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

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 < .001), had husbands with limited participation in child-rearing (OR = 5.7, CI[4.2, 7.9], p < .001), lived in special wards in the Tokyo Metropolis (OR = 4.2, CI[2.2, 8.3], p < .001), had child abuse concerns (OR = 2.1, CI [1.5, 2.9], p < .001), and had no time to relax with their child (OR = 4.5, CI [3.1–6.7], p < .001) exhibited higher odds ratios for child-rearing isolation, compared to mothers who did not exhibit these characteristics. CONCLUSIONS: Findings showed the impact of urban living on maternal health and the influence of isolation on mothers’ anxiety about child-rearing and their potential for child maltreatment. The importance of fathers’ involvement in child-rearing in preventing maternal child-rearing isolation was highlighted. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s10995-022-03427-0.