Links of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Related Stressors to Depressive Symptoms of Low-Income Immigrant Parents

• In Event: Supporting the Well-Being of School Community During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Perspectives From Different School Stakeholders

Abstract

Objectives
The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic has been linked to heightened depressive symptoms across the globe (Shah et al., 2021). Research suggests that parents are no exception (Cameron et al., 2020). Though the bulk of the literature has focused on white, non-immigrant families of higher socioeconomic status (SES), lower-SES immigrant parents may be at particularly high risk due to COVD-19-related financial, relational, and employment stressors that have been tied to depression (Cameron et al., 2020; McGinty et al., 2020). In the context of an ongoing longitudinal study of Chinese American and Mexican American families with preschool-age children in low-income communities, the present study aims to examine the impact of COVID-19 on depressive symptoms of immigrant parents. The two specific aims are 1) to test whether parents' depressive symptoms increased during the pandemic (compared to pre-pandemic symptoms); and 2) to examine the relations of socio-cultural factors (culture group, SES, language, and immigration variables) to individual differences in parents' experiences of COVID-19-related stressors and depressive symptoms.

Theoretical Perspective and Framework
The current study is guided by the Stress Process Model (Pearlin et al., 1981), which proposes that primary stressors (e.g., economic) may lead to depression through mediating stressors (e.g., parenting stress), and that one’s psychosocial resources can moderate this pathway. The Family System Theory (Carr, 2015) is also considered to understand the downstream effects of parents’ psychological distress on children’s wellbeing through parent-child relationships, parenting practices, and interparental relationships.

Methods
At Wave 1 of our longitudinal study (Pre-pandemic, data collected 09/2018-03/2020), 190 families (124 Chinese American and 66 Mexican American) with preschool-aged children (48% girls, age range = 36 to 63 months, Mage= 48 months) were recruited from Head Start and state-funded preschool programs in the San Francisco Bay Area and Sacramento Metropolitan Area. Both mothers and fathers were invited to participate. Data were collected via parents’ self-report and structured interviews during in-home assessments. Wave 2 (During the pandemic) data collection started in summer 2020 and will be complete in December 2021. Parent questionnaires were collected remotely. At both waves, parents self-reported their depressive symptoms using the Center for Epidemiological Study -Depression Scale (CES-D). At Wave 2, parents also completed the COVID-19 Household Environment Survey (CHES) to report their experience of COVID-19-related stressors.

Expected Results
To test aim 1, paired-sample t-tests will be conducted to compare parents’ depressive symptoms at Wave 1 (Pre-pandemic) and Wave 2 (During the pandemic). To test aim 2, multiple regression analyses will be conducted to predict Wave 2 depressive symptoms from W1 depressive symptoms and socio-cultural factors (culture group, family income, parental education, parent language, and immigration variables) and W2 COVID-19-related stressors.

Significance
By investigating both the overall trends and individual differences in parents' experience of COVID-19-related stressors and depressive symptoms among low-income immigrant families, the study can inform schools' family engagement policies and programs to better support parents from low-income immigrant communities during the pandemic.

Authors

• Christopher Gys, University of California - Berkeley

• Qing Zhou, University of California - Berkeley

• Yuuko Uchikoshi, University of California - Davis