Family Processes Underlying COVID-19 Pandemic Related Economic Insecurity and Children’s Internalizing Behaviors

• In Event: Family Processes Involving Parental Mental Health During COVID-19: Associations with Child Well-being

Abstract

Families have experienced higher rates of economic insecurity and mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, underlying family processes linking pandemic-related economic insecurity and child outcomes have not been thoroughly examined thus far. This study applied the Family Stress Model (FSM; Conger et al., 2002) to longitudinal data collected during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic to examine the associations pandemic related economic insecurity and children’s internalizing behaviors, as mediated by parental mental health, relationship quality, and harsh parenting.
Data were from a national convenience sample of U.S. parents with children below 12 years old (N=357). Parents identified as White (70%), Black (12%), Hispanic/Latinx (10%), Biracial (5%), and other (3%). The majority of the parents (59%) had an annual household income of less than $50,000. Data were collected at two-time points in the early weeks of COVID-19: (1) April 14, 2020 (T1); and (2) April 30, 2020 (T2). Pandemic-related economic insecurity was assessed using a modified Worry Domains Questionnaire Financial Subscale (WDQ; Frank et al., 1994), as well as items pertaining to food insecurity and lack of parenting resources specific to COVID-19. Parental depressive symptoms were measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ9; Kroenke et al., 2001). Negative relationship quality primarily assessed increased conflict between partners. Harsh parenting was measured using the Parent-Child Conflict Tactic Scale’s (CTSPC; Straus et al., 1995) Neglect and Psychological Aggression Subscales along with items pertaining to parental discipline practices during COVID-19. Child internalizing behaviors were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist Anxiety Subscale (CBCL; Achenbach, 1999). Sociodemographic control variables included parental age, sex, education, race and ethnicity, income, employment status, marital status, and child age. Using R version 4.1.2, structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted, along with a Monte Carlo approach to testing indirect effects.
The SEM model had a good fit, 2(24)=43.94, p=.008, CFI=0.97, RMSEA=0.05, 90% CI[0.03, 0.07], SRMR=0.03. Results showed that pandemic-related economic insecurity was associated with higher levels of parental depressive symptoms, which were then associated with higher levels of negative partner relationship quality. Subsequently, negative partner relationship quality was associated with higher levels of harsh parenting, which was then associated with higher levels of child internalizing behaviors. Additionally, parental depressive symptoms were directly associated with higher levels of harsh parenting. Test of indirect effects showed small but statistically significant indirect effects for all main mediators: parental depressive symptoms, negative partner relationship quality, and harsh discipline. All standardized estimates are shown in Figure 1.
Findings highlight that the FSM processes can be applied to and are replicated within the context of a public health emergency, especially during the early months of COVID-19. Pandemic-related economic insecurity was associated with increased child internalizing behavior problems as mediated by higher levels of parental depressive symptoms, negative partner relationship quality, and harsh discipline practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. These results suggest the need to target parental mental health, interparental functioning, and parent-child relationships in mitigating the negative consequences of pandemic-related economic hardship on child development.

Authors

• Joyce Yea-Eun Lee, Ohio State University
  Presenting Author

• Shawna J. Lee, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Sehun Oh, Ohio State University

• Olivia Dae Chang, University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

• Kaitlin Ward