Parenting and child mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

• In Event: The Intergenerational Transmission of Stress During COVID-19: Highlighting Parent Mental Health and Sociodemographic Factors

Abstract

Background: Early work indicates the significant negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of young people. Parent and family factors are known to be important in influencing mental health in children and adolescents, and prior research indicates their importance in impacting the development of child mental health problems following traumatic and stressful events. The current study investigated associations between parent and family factors, and changes in children and adolescent’s mental health during the early phase of COVID-19.

Methods: 385 parents across a number of countries (primarily Australia and the UK, but also the US, Canada and New Zealand) completed an online survey about their 5-17 year old children (N = 481) during April/May 2020. Current parent mental health was assessed with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS); parenting behaviors were assessed with the Parental Acceptance/Rejection Questionnaire (PARQ); family cohesion was assessed with the Family Environment Scale (FES); COVID-19 impacts and parent-child communication were assessed with newly developed questions. Changes in child mental health were assessed using a modified version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), which asked about mental health problems in the prior 6 months, in addition to whether problems had remained the same, or had increased or decreased since COVID-19; child trauma symptoms were assessed using the UCLA PTSD Reactions Index.

Results: Analyses revealed significant increases in both internalizing and externalizing problems in children during COVID-19, as reported by parents. 81% of children had experienced at least one trauma symptom; COVID-19-related increases in emotional problems were particularly prevalent, with, for example, 29% of children experiencing an increase in unhappiness since pre-COVID. Further, there were significant associations between parent and family factors and these child mental health changes (Fig 1). For example, parental depressive and anxiety symptoms were associated with increases in children’s problems, and specifically their internalizing problems. Parental perceived negative impact of COVID-19 (e.g., financial problems, worry about uncertainty, worry about getting the virus) was associated with increases in child emotional and inattention-hyperactivity problems, and trauma symptoms, and these findings were not better explained by general parent stress levels. Parental difficulty communicating about COVID-19 with children was associated with increases in a number of child mental health problems. High levels of hostile parenting behaviors, low levels of parental warmth, and low levels of family cohesion were associated with child trauma symptoms. Finally, some associations between parenting behaviors and parent mental health, and changes in child mental health, were more pronounced for a) children with higher pre-existing problems, b) socioeconomically disadvantaged, and c) single parent families.

Interpretations: Findings have implications for the identification of children and adolescents who may be most at risk of poor mental health outcomes during COVID-19. Findings have been presented in media articles to highlight the importance of parents in safeguarding children’s mental health. They have informed the modification of a parent-based intervention for adolescent depression and anxiety. Finally, a follow-up assessment is planned in order to infer directionality, and capture the enduring and/or emerging nature mental health effects in children and adolescents.

Authors

• Sarah Lauren Whittle, University of Melbourne
  Presenting Author

• Sylvia Chu Lin
  Non-Presenting Author

• Orli Schwartz, University of Melbourne
  Non-Presenting Author