Children’s Behavioral Patterns During Covid-19: Relation to Parental Overload, Emotional Regulation, and Emotion Work

• In Event: Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Topic - Solicited Content: COVID-19 Related

Abstract

Children’s emotional well-being is of concern during the current pandemic. As with children’s resilience to stressful circumstances (ranging from serious/traumatic to everyday stressors) being greatly influenced by their parents’ emotional states, so it is also with Covid-19 (Shorer & Liebovich, 2020). Parents' ability to function as supportive nurturers who can assist children in managing adversity is complicated by increased demands they are experiencing during this time. Vanishing boundaries between work/school/home; occupational/economic instability; role overload (especially for mothers); remote schooling conflicts; and lack of child care are a few of the stressors they face (Russell et al, 2020).
Distancing requirements also separate families from systemic support sources vital for children’s resilience (extended family, friends, school, community). Unlike other stressors that impact child resilience and well-being, the current one is unique in that it is an invisible threat (Masten, 2020) with no seeming end.
In this paper we examine how children’s behavior during the first months of the pandemic vary as a function of parent’s perceived overload and emotion regulation. We also examine how these direct associations are indirectly affected by Covid-19 emotional work, defined by how difficult it has been for parents to help children manage their feelings/anxieties/disappointments resulting from COVID-19. Further, how are these direct and indirect effects differentially impacted by parent sex?
Data consists of a nationwide survey of 1,193 parents (1,226 children, ages 3-10). 56% of parents were women, 44% men with 74% married. Seventy-four percent were white with 11% identifying as Black. Data was collected using the Prolific platform in late April/early May.

Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ). 10 item scale used to measure habitual use of cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression strategies to manage emotions.
Overload Questionnaire.13 item 5 point scale of respondents agreement with statements assessing the extent to they feel a lack of time to do needed tasks.
Emotion Work of Covid. List of issues parents may have experienced since schools closed. Four point scale from (Not a problem) to (Serious problem on items, “Helping children to manage their anxiety and emotions surrounding Covd-19 and/or social distancing,” “Assisting children in dealing with disappointment over cancelled events,” and “Assisting children in managing isolation from others including family and friends.”
Health Behavior Questionnaire. 8 item scale used to measure children’s externalizing behaviors since social distancing.
Sleep. Assessed with the item, “How often has your child had problems falling asleep or staying asleep” since start of stay at home orders, from 1 (Not at all) to 4 (Often).
Clinginess. Parents responded Not True, Somewhat True, or Certainly True to “Since the COVID-19 pandemic my child is nervous, clingy, easily loses confidence.”

Data was analyzed by means of structural equation modeling using MPlus. Results partially supported hypothesis that the association between parental overload and children’s behavior is indirectly affected by the parental emotional work of covid-19. Further, SEM models improved when multiple groups were tested on mothers and fathers, supporting our hypothesis that overload and Covid emotion work differentially affects mothers and fathers and their interactions with their children.

Authors

• Shannon Weaver, University of Connecticut
  Non-Presenting Author

• Carol A Johnston, East Carolina University
  Presenting Author

• Anisa Zvonkovic, Virginia Tech
  Non-Presenting Author

• Nicole Perry, University of Texas at Austin
  Non-Presenting Author

• Amy Van Schagen, California State University - San Bernardino
  Non-Presenting Author