Mental health is one of the most pressing issues in Northern Ireland (NI). Statistics from the Health Survey NI (2021) show that almost one-fifth of NI residents report mental disorders. Young people tend to be much more at risk in NI compared to other UK nations with almost 12.6% of children and young people experiencing common mood disorders such as anxiety and depression.

Maternal mental health disorders also seem to be increasing with an estimated 10-20% of women in NI experiencing mental health issues during pregnancy or after giving birth.

This lecture will discuss interventions which may help children and mothers with mental disorders and potentially improve further life course outcomes including female empowerment, parenting decisions and children's educational outcomes. 

Speakers

• Professor Sonia Bhalotra, University of Warwick
• Professor Siobhan O’Neill, Ulster University and NI Mental Health Champion

Schedule 

• 11:00 – 12:30 Professor Sonia Bhalotra will present results from two different studies which focus on children and maternal mental health, respectively. In one study, she evaluates the medium-term impacts of treating maternal depression with Cognitive Behavioural Therapy delivered by community health workers. The treatment has significant and meaningful impacts on women's mental health, financial empowerment, and parenting inputs. The other study analyses the impact of taking antidepressants, revealing improvements in school performance among children diagnosed with a mental health condition. It tries to illuminate the difficult question of whether antidepressants are over- or under-prescribed to children, uncovering a tendency toward under-treatment of children from less educated families.
• 12:45 – 13:15 Professor Siobhan O’Neill will discuss results considering the NI situation. 
• 13:30 – 14:00 Public roundtable discussion.

Due to the ongoing construction of our new Queen’s Management School Building on Riddel Hall grounds, car parking is currently unavailable. We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this causes you. Please see alternative commuting options.