Parenting Quality and Household Needs During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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

Abstract

Background: Supportive parenting is critical for promoting healthy child development in the face of stressors, such as those occurring during COVID-19 (Yoshikawa 2020). Exposure to early life stressors, including poverty, family conflict, and parent mental illness, can impair health across the lifespan (Shonkoff, 2011). Stress-exposed children are more likely to experience developmental delays, asthma, diabetes, obesity, mental illness, and hospitalization. Supportive caregiving relationships are consistently identified as powerful protective factors for promoting resiliency to stress (Hostinar, 2014). Here, we address a knowledge gap regarding specific household risk factors associated with parenting quality during the pandemic and incorporate first-person accounts of family challenges and needs.

Methods: Mixed methods were applied to international data from English-speaking countries collected between April 14th - 28th, 2020 from the “Parenting During the Pandemic” survey. Participants included 555 primary caregivers (e.g., mothers, fathers, foster parents) of least one child age 1.5-8 years who responded to both standardized questionnaires and qualitative online surveys. Parenting quality was assessed across stressful, negative, and positive parenting dimensions (The Parenting Stress Index; The Parenting Scale; Parenting Young Children). Household risk was examined across pandemic-linked (e.g., caregiver depression, unmet childcare needs) and stable factors (i.e., annual income, mental illness history). Significant correlates were examined with regressions in Mplus v 8.0. Thematic analysis examined caregiver challenges and unmet needs from open-ended questions.

Results: Parental depression, higher child parity, unmet childcare needs, and relationship distress predicted lower-quality parenting. Parental depression was the most significant predictor across every parenting dimension, with analyses indicating medium effect sizes, ds = .39 - .73 (Figure 1). The uncontrollable and severe strains on parent capacities were highlighted across qualitative thematic domains. Parents spoke about challenges in four domains including: Having too much time together; Self-doubt in parenting and teaching abilities; Role accommodation; and Managing COVID-19 psychological distress. Four main themes were evident for parenting unmet needs including: Childcare and additional supports; Resources and activities; More flexibility in work and school expectations; and Help managing psychological distress.

Interpretations: Lower quality parenting during COVID-19 is associated with multiple household and pandemic risk factors, with parental depression consistently linked to parent-child relationship disruptions. Having multiple children in the home, unmet childcare needs, and relationship distress were additional risk factors for low-quality parenting across multiple indicators. Notably, these links remained after accounting for more stable household risk factors, including sociodemographic variables and history of parent mental illness. First-person qualitative accounts about the challenges of maintaining a positive parent-child relationship under pandemic conditions. Focused efforts are needed to address caregiver mental health to protect child health as part of the pandemic response. Following these early findings, our research group has developed two telehealth programs (clinical trials underway) to address unmet family mental health and parenting needs in families of young children. We have also successfully advocated for the inclusion of a harsh parenting measure in a nationally representative survey of Canadian households.

Authors

• Leslie E. Roos, University of Manitoba
  Presenting Author

• Marlee Salisbury, University of Manitoba
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lara Penner-Goeke, University of Winnipeg
  Non-Presenting Author

• Emily E Cameron, University of Manitoba
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jennifer Protudjer, University of Manitoba
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ryan Giuliano, University of Manitoba
  Non-Presenting Author

• Tracie Afifi, University of Manitoba
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kristin Reynolds, University of Manitoba
  Non-Presenting Author