Turkish Mother’s Emotional Availability and Children’s Behavior Problems During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study

• In Event: Parenting stress and children’s socio-emotional outcomes in the context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, parents’ desire to provide sufficient support for their own and children’s psychological health would create different sources of stress (Russell et al., 2020). Further, Family Stress Model (Conger et al., 1992) posits that environmental stressors (e.g., financial burden) could be negatively transferred to child outcomes (e.g., behavior problems) through parenting practices and parent-child relationships. The present study examines the longitudinal contributions of Covid19-related stressors and emotional availability of mothers (mutual attunement and hostility) to children’s externalizing and internalizing problem behaviors. In this longitudinal study, we collected data across three-time points starting from July 2020 to February 2021. The sample for the current study consisted of 443 mothers (M = 34.44, SD = 4.76, Range: 20–49 years) and their children (50.8% Female, M = 59.67 months, SD = 12.10, Range: 30–80 months) were recruited via word of mouth and online platforms in Istanbul representing different socioeconomic statuses. A total of 45.3% of mothers completed high school and below degrees, and 51.1% of parents reported 5000TL (⸞US$731) and below as family income. Mothers reported on children’s behavior problems (externalizing and internalizing) via the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000) and the Emotional Availability Scale (mutual attunement and hostility) (Biringen, 2005). The Perceived Covid19-related Stressors Scale (PCSS) is a parent-report instrument designed by considering current conditions and research (e.g., Spinelli et al., 2020) to assess parents’ perceptions of individual and environmental stressors that emerged during the current pandemic. All measures showed good internal consistency in the current study. Longitudinal reciprocal associations among COVID-related stress, emotional availability, and children’s behavior problems were examined with cross-lagged models using Mplus 8.5 (Muthen & Muthen, 2020). A bootstrap procedure (2000 resamples) with a 95% bias-corrected confidence interval (CI) was used, and the p <.05 effect was considered significant. All constructs were relatively stable over time. Parents’ mutual attunement fluctuated over time, and COVID19-related stress and children’s externalizing behaviors at W2 predicted mutual attunement at W3 (У = -.11, -33, respectively). Children’s internalizing behaviors at W1 predicted COVID19-related stress (У = .10) at W2 and, in turn, mutual attunement at W3 (У = -.11). In addition, mutual attunement at W1 predicted children’s internalizing behaviors at W2 (У = -.17). Hostility at W1 predicted children’s externalizing behavior at W2 (У =.11). See Figures for detailed associations. The results from the current study enhance the understanding of the contributions of mothers’ perceived COVID19-related stress and their emotional availability to children’s behavior problems. Considering the increasing effects of the current pandemic outbreak on parents and children, the current investigation provides initial insights about emerging adversities during the COVID19 outbreak, which could be a promising base for future implications.

Authors

• Ibrahim Hakki Acar, Özyeğin University
  Presenting Author

• Gizem Arıkan

• Asiye Kumru

• Fatma Özge Ünsal