Promotive and risk factors for children’s mental health—Finnish municipal policymakers’ and leading officeholders’ views

Findings on children’s mental health promotion at the policy level are scarce, and the perceptions of the municipal administration on factors affecting children’s mental health have not been reported. This study describes the perspectives of policymakers and leading officeholders on promotive and risk factors for children’s mental health in a socioecological context. The perspectives of Finnish policymakers (n = 15) and officeholders (n = 10) in municipalities were examined using semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed using inductive content analysis and were categorized according to the five levels of a socioecological model of health promotion: public policy, community, organizational, interpersonal and individual levels. The public policy level emerged strongly in the findings, specifically strategic planning and implementation challenges related to the promotion of children’s mental health in the municipality and state administration. At the community level, environmental factors promoting children’s mental health as well as risk factors were described. The organizational level consisted of support, requirements and development needs in children’s services. The importance of family and close networks at the interpersonal level, as well as the individual basis of mental health, were also evident. The integration and better collaboration of child and family services, the use of child rights impact assessment in political decision-making, and financial support from the state could contribute to improving strategic planning to support children’s mental health at the municipal level.