Mindfulness Processes that Mitigate COVID-Related Stress in Parents in the United States

• In Event: COVID-19 and Protective Factors in Family Life: A Developmental Perspective

Abstract

Mitigating the effects of COVID-19 on child development involves understanding the impact of the pandemic on parent well-being and factors that protect against emotional distress associated with the virus itself and measures used to reduce disease transmission. Parents are one of the strongest influences on child development, with parents’ own mental health recognized as shaping child outcomes (Masarik & Conger, 2017). A June 2020 national survey of United States (US) parents found that 27% of parents with children under 18 years reported declining mental health, coinciding with worsening child behavioral health in 10% of families (Patrick et al., 2020). While studies examining the impact of COVID-19 have focused on identifying those at increased risk for detrimental outcomes, the literature on protective factors for parent emotional well-being during the pandemic is understudied but equally important. The purpose of our study was to examine whether level of COVID-related stress exposure was related to parental emotional distress, and whether parents’ experience of distress was reduced by their reported level of mindfulness. We examined whether four specific mindfulness-related constructs: nonreactivity, nonjudging, acting with awareness, and self-compassion – were processes that would buffer the impact of stress exposure on parental emotional distress one-month later.

A total of 414 parents (Mage=38.2, SDage=7.97; 68.6% female) completed a survey through Mechanical Turk at the end of May 2020. At baseline, parents’ nonreactivity, nonjudging, and acting with awareness were assessed using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (Bohlmeijer et al., 2011) and self-compassion during difficult times was measured using the Self-Compassion Scale (Raes et al., 2011). After data quality checks, 80% of the sample was retained (n=332) one-month later. COVID-related stress exposure was assessed with six yes/no items that included occurrence of pandemic related events and changes (e.g., was unable to get food or household necessities; works in a high-risk environment; cares for children who are normally in school; lost a family member or friend to COVID-19). Parents were also asked the extent to which they felt increased stress due to pandemic-related events using 18 items (=.91) from the COVID Family Stress Screener (Huth-Bocks, 2020 unpublished measure).

Moderation analyses indicated that acting with awareness (b=-.15, SEb=0.04, t=-4.14, p<.001), non-judging (b=-.09, SEb=0.04, t=-2.25, p=.03), and self-compassion (b=-.11, SEb=0.05, t=-2.29, p=.02) moderated the association between COVID-related stress exposure and parental emotional distress. Simple-slope analyses suggested that for parents with low-to-average levels of acting with awareness, a strong association between COVID-related stress exposure and emotional distress was observed (b=.40, SEb=0.04, t=8.80, p<.001; b=.24, SEb=0.04, t=6.04, p<.001; respectively). For parents reporting high levels of acting with awareness, COVID-related stress exposure and pandemic-related stress measured one-month later were unrelated (b=.09, SEb=0.06, t=1.37, p=.17). Patterns were similar for self-compassion and non-judging, but weaker compared to acting with awareness such that at high levels of self-compassion and non-judging, the association between COVID-related stress exposure and pandemic-related stress remained significant, but was weaker compared to low-to-average levels of self-compassion and non-judging. Results provide evidence that specific mindfulness processes may act as protective factors for parents against pandemic-related emotional distress.

Authors

• Sharon Lo, Pacific University
  Presenting Author

• Nicole Wen, Brunel University London
  Non-Presenting Author

• Alison Leslie Miller, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
  Non-Presenting Author