Individual and Family Factors Associated with Children’s Adjustment Problems During COVID-19

• In Event: Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Topic - Solicited Content: COVID-19 Related

Abstract

Changes related to the COVID-19 pandemic have rapidly modified social and economic realities, including steep increases in unemployment and reductions in families’ incomes (U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, 2020). Early research demonstrates that families experiencing the most pandemic-related stressors report worse mental health (Gassman-Pines, Ananat, and Fitz-Henley, 2020). Yet, more research is needed on the pandemic’s effect on how individual, familial, and environmental factors coalesce to impact child psychological adjustment. Study objective: This study aims to explore changes in families’ economic circumstances during the pandemic and their association with child adjustment. Further, the study aims to examine how parental psychopathology moderates this association. Method: Data were collected in the United States from June-August 2020 from N=101 parents with children between the ages of 5 and 10 years old. Parents reported on COVID-related changes in employment, interfamilial relationships, parents’ depression and anxiety, and children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms. All data have been collected; data cleaning and analyses are underway. Analyses for this presentation will be completed no later than December 2020, well in advance of the SRCD biennial conference. Preliminary descriptive analyses were conducted in SPSS. Hypotheses: We hypothesize that parents in families who experienced changes in employment and reductions in income due to COVID-19 will report that their children are experiencing more internalizing and externalizing symptoms. We also hypothesize that parental anxiety and depression symptoms will moderate the association between COVID-related economic changes and child adjustment such that that higher levels of depression and anxiety will be associated with a stronger relationship between economic changes and parents’ report of children’s internalizing and externalizing. Data analytic plan: These hypotheses will be explored with a hierarchical regression. We anticipate that it will be very feasible to complete the data analyses by the time of the meeting. Preliminary results: Of the 101 parents, 68 were mothers and 33 were fathers. 63% identified as White. 54% of participants indicated changes in employment related because of COVID-19; of those, 5% were working more, 61% were working less, 21% were furloughed, and 13% had been laid off. 72% of participants reported that their family’s finances had been affected by COVID-19; of those, 84% reported having less money that usual. Regarding parents’ report of how their relationship with their children had changed because of COVID-19, 5% of participants reported it had gotten much worse, 22% reported that it had gotten a little worse, 32% reported it had gotten a little better, and 3% reported it had gotten much better. Parents’ mean depression and anxiety scores (M = 14.19 and 9.52; SD = 9.55 and 8.64) fell in the moderate and mild ranges, respectively, per cutoffs recommended by measure developers (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1993). General implications of anticipated findings: This study aims to explore how pandemic-related economic changes are affecting the wellbeing of children and families, understand which families are most at risk for adverse mental health effects, and elucidate how local services could be employed to meet these families’ needs.

Authors

• Jessica R. Carney, University of Notre Dame
  Presenting Author

• Brigid M Behrens, University of Notre Dame
  Non-Presenting Author

• Laura Miller-Graff, University of Notre Dame
  Non-Presenting Author