Relations Among Self-Compassion, Hope, and Parenting Stress During the Covid-19 Pandemic

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

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted all aspects of life, parents have been subjected to more household and caregiving responsibilities and stressors. Recent research in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted additional multiple stressors beyond parents’ control. For example, addressing the pandemic has necessitated drastic life changes such as staying at home and social distancing to help prevent the spread of the virus. Brown et al. (2020) purported that with limited outside social interaction and increased demands at home, parents may be especially vulnerable to stress and other mental health concerns. Concerns regarding the negative impact of the pandemic on finances, employment, and psychological health were also found to contribute to parenting stress (Chung et al., 2020). More importantly, majority of parents in the U.S. identified having a family member get infected as a significant source of their stress (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020). In the context of the pandemic where social interaction is limited and access to relevant services may be a challenge, enhancing one’s own psychological resources may be especially beneficial in helping manage parenting stress. Specifically, this study investigated the role of hope and self-compassion, along with parents’ perception of Covid-19 health risks on parenting stress.

Self-compassion is defined as “being open to and moved by one’s own suffering, experiencing feelings of caring and kindness toward oneself, taking an understanding, nonjudgmental attitude toward one’s inadequacies and failures, and recognizing that one’s own experience is part of the common human experience,” (Neff, 2003, p. 224). Hope is defined as “a positive motivational state that is based on an interactively derived sense of successful (a) agency (goal-directed energy), and (b) pathways (planning to meet goals)” (Snyder et al., 1991, p. 287). As such, these constructs – hope and self-compassion – can serve as effective regulation tactics to increase parenting quality and decrease parental distress. Existing studies also suggest that hope can buffer against parental stress.

In this cross-sectional study, a total of 362 parents living in the United States completed an online survey in July 2020. Multiple regression analyses revealed that higher levels of hope are related to lower levels of parenting stress. On the other hand, lower levels of self-compassion as indicated by higher scores on the subscales of isolation, self-judgment and overidentification are related to higher levels of parenting stress. Further, testing positive for the coronavirus is positively related to parenting stress, whereas the belief that COVID-19 is a serious disease is negatively related to parenting stress. Findings also revealed the significant role of hope in moderating the relation between self-compassion and parenting stress. This study highlights the importance of nurturing and drawing from one’s own psychological resources to mitigate parenting stress, particularly in the context of a chronic source of stress like a pandemic.

Authors

• Aileen Garcia, University of Missouri - Columbia
  Presenting Author

• Staci Born, South Dakota State University

• Christin L. Carotta, South Dakota State University

• Erin Lavender-Stott

• Hung-Ling Liu