Neighbourhood belonging, social cohesion, and mental wellbeing of children and parents in an ethnically diverse community sample in England

BACKGROUND: Neighbourhood cohesion is considered an important and modifiable determinant of mental health that interacts with factors such as deprivation and ethnicity in complex ways. UK studies adequately representing ethnic minority groups are however scarce. We examined associations between neighbourhood belonging, social cohesion, and mental wellbeing of children and parents in an ethnically diverse community sample in England.

METHODS: We analysed cross-sectional baseline data from the TOGETHER study, a randomised controlled trial testing the effectiveness of the ‘Strengthening Families, Strengthening Communities’ parenting programme developed to reach ethnic minority and other marginalised families living in England (ISRCTN: 15194500). Outcomes were parental mental wellbeing (Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, WEMWBS) and child socio-emotional difficulties (Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ). Neighbourhood belonging and social cohesion were assessed using the adapted Buckner scale. Multiple linear regression models were run, adjusted for sociodemographic factors including age, gender and ethnicity of the parent (for WEMWBS) or child (for SDQ); family socio-economic position; and family structure. Models assessing child socio-emotional difficulties additionally adjusted for parental mental wellbeing.

RESULTS: The analysis sample included 638 participants with complete data, of whom 62% were from an ethnic minority background. Higher neighbourhood belonging and social cohesion were associated with higher parental mental wellbeing (higher WEMWBS scores) in fully adjusted models (β for neighbourhood belonging = 0.28, 95% CI: 0.17 to 0.40, p  < 0.001; β for social cohesion = 0.49, 95% CI: 0.37 to 0.61, p  < 0.001). Associations with WEMWBS were not moderated by ethnic group. Neighbourhood belonging was unrelated to child socio-emotional difficulties after adjustment for child and family characteristics. Higher social cohesion was associated with lower child socio-emotional difficulties after adjustment for covariates (β = -0.10, 95% CI: -0.20 to -0.01, p  < 0.033), this association was fully attenuated after additional adjustment for parental mental wellbeing (β = 0.02, 95% CI: -0.07 to 0.12, p  = 0.612).

CONCLUSIONS: In this diverse community sample, neighbourhood belonging and social cohesion were strongly related to parental mental health. Controlling for parental mental health explained the association between social cohesion and child socio-emotional difficulties. Fostering neighbourhood belonging and social cohesion may hold promise for efforts to improve both parent and child mental wellbeing.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-025-25433-x.