Impact of Covid-19 pandemic and social distancing on depression symptoms in mothers

• In Event: Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Topic - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Abstract

The pandemic of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) may be a stressful experience and can be trigger for feelings like fear and anxiety (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2020). The main strategy to cope is the social distancing and isolation aiming to control strategy the spread of the virus contamination in the population, as there is not yet an effective pharmacological treatment or vaccine (Goodman & Borio, 2020). However, it is important to highlight that social distancing can have several impacts on mental health (Brooks et al., 2020), especially for mothers and children, who are currently deprived of attending school (Cluver et al., 2020; Wang, Zhang, Zhao, Zhang, & Jiang, 2020). This study aimed to examine the maternal mental health (depression indicator) and the child behavior during the social isolation period, in mothers differentiated by the presence vs. absence of this indicator previously to the pandemic. The sample included 68 mothers of 1-to-6-year old children, who had previously participated in preventive parenting intervention programs and were contacted again to participate voluntarily in this study. Prior to social distancing, the mothers` depression indicator was assessed by The Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9; Kroenke, Spitzer, & Williams, 2001) and the child behavior was evaluated by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Fleitlich, Córtazar, & Goodman, 2000; Goodman, 1997). During the social distancing, an online- questionnaire was sent through WhatsApp to mothers (via Google Forms). The questionnaire of the impact of the social distance during the pandemic included questions about mothers` feelings and perceptions, mother-report of child behavior, and questions of PHQ-9 (Linhares, Altafim, Gaspardo, & Oliveira, 2020). In the data analysis, regarding the pre-pandemic assessment, the sample was split into two groups, as the follows: PHQ-9+ group (presence of depression symptoms) and PHQ-9- group (absence of symptoms). Between-group and within-group comparisons were performed (p-value ≤ 0.05). The results showed that, during the pandemic period, the PHQ-9+ mothers (mean = 8.29 ±3.48) showed significantly higher score than the PHQ-9- mothers (mean = 5.65 ±4.32) (p = 0.007). In the within-group comparison, unexpectedly, during the pandemic, the PHQ-9+ mothers decreased significantly the depression symptoms (pre-pandemic, mean = 11. 85 ±5.30; during-pandemic, mean = 8.29 ±3.48; p ≤ 0.001) and the PHQ-9- mothers exhibited depression symptoms (pre-pandemic, mean = 2.65 ±1.45; during-pandemic, mean = 5.65, ± 4.32; p ≤ 0.00001). In the pandemic period, the pattern change showing that there was 47% of PHQ-9- mothers with depressive symptoms, and 89% in PHQ-9+ mothers. Focusing the child behavior prior to the pandemic period, in the PHQ-9+, 30% (n = 24) of children were classified as borderline/anormal behavior and, in the PHQ-9-, 9% (n = 3). During the pandemic, in both groups, the child behavior problems increased significantly (PHQ-9+ = 53% [p = 0.02] and PHQ-9- = 47% [p = 0.002]), according to mothers` report. The findings confirmed the negative impact of the social isolation during the pandemic context in mothers and children, even when there was no pre-existing maternal mental health or child problems.

Authors

• Camila Regina Lotto, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
  Presenting Author

• Rebeca Cristina de OLIVEIRA, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
  Non-Presenting Author

• Elisa Rachel Pisani Altafim, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
  Non-Presenting Author

• Claudia Maria Gaspardo, University of Sao Paulo
  Non-Presenting Author

• Maria Beatriz Martins Linhares, Universidade de São Paulo (USP)
  Non-Presenting Author