Social Distancing and Anxiety Among Mothers of Children Zero-to-Five During COVID-19 Lockdown in the US

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Topic - Solicited Content: COVID-19 Related

Abstract

Background: Past studies have linked measures of social isolation to mental health among caregivers of young children. As people across the world adjust to social distancing measures, there is the need to understand consequences of social distancing measures on caregiver mental health. Thus, the objective of this study is to examine the association between adherence to social distancing measures and feeling worried/anxious among mothers of children ages zero-to-five.

Methods: Data for this study came from an online survey that was administered between May and June 2020 to understand stress and mental health among caregivers of children zero-to-five during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 358 mothers of children ages zero-to-five was analyzed using binary logistic regression with feeling worried/anxious as the outcome variable.

Results: More than a third of the mothers (35.2%) reported feeling worried/anxious during the past month and about 42% reported strictly adhering to social distancing measures. Controlling for the effect of other factors, mothers who reported strictly adhering to social distancing had 1.86 times higher odds of feeling worried/anxious when compared to mothers who were not strictly adhering to social distancing (AOR=1.86, 95% C.I.=1.07-3.24). Mothers who felt bothered by withdrawal from activities of interest had 4.11 times higher odds of reporting feeling worried/anxious (AOR=4.11, 95% C.I.=2.32-7.24).

Conclusions: As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve, it is important to build community response to better support caregivers of infants and young children. Implications for practice, policy, and research as they relate to maternal mental health are discussed.

Authors

• Erin Findley, University of Texas at Arlington
  Presenting Author

• Philip Baiden, University of Texas at Arlington
  Non-Presenting Author

• Catherine A. LaBrenz, University of Texas at Arlington
  Non-Presenting Author