Parenting in a Pandemic: Caregiver concerns for the health and wellbeing of their children

• In Event: Factors affecting parenting during the Pandemic

Abstract

During the pandemic, caregivers have been faced the task of socializing and supporting the development of their children while also attending to the challenges of the pandemic, leading to an increase in caregiver concerns. However, caregiver concerns and challenges may differ based on the age of the child, among other sociodemographic characteristics. Understanding the differential concerns among caregivers will ensure that post-pandemic policies and practices are developmentally informed and tailored to meet the needs of the child and family. Data were from the 2020 Impacts of COVID-19 on Canadians survey focused on parenting during the pandemic. Participants were asked about any pandemic related concerns, including the child’s mental and physical health, ability to be physically active and healthy eating, use of screen time and online safety, socialization and loneliness, and academic success. Initially, we calculated a mean score related to caregiver concerns, with a higher score indicating greater concerns for the child, and then examined differences based on child age, racialized identity, and immigration status. We then conducted a person-centred latent class analysis (LCA) to identify patterns of parenting concerns and examined how these patterns differ between families. Participants (N=32,228) were mostly female (90%), with 2.7% identifying as Indigenous. 11.3% as visible minorities, and 12.1% as immigrants in Canada. Multiple linear regressions indicated that the age of the child, racialized/Indigenous identity, and immigration status were significantly associated with higher concerns. Interestingly, having a younger child (0-5 years) was associated with lower concern scores, whereas having a school-aged child (6-14 years) or adolescent/young adult (15-24 years) were associated with increased concern score. The LCA revealed 4 classes: 1)Low concerns; 2)High concerns; 3)Screentime/physical activity concerns; and 4)Mental health concerns. Immigrant, visible minorities, and Indigenous respondents were more likely to be in the high concerns group, which showed high probability of being extremely or very concerned for all items. Finally, while families with young children had lower scores related to concerns, the LCA revealed they were most likely to have concerns related to socialization and the mental health of their child. As a result of the pandemic, it appears caregivers of school-aged children are reporting the highest level of concerns related to multiple aspects of development, whereas caregivers of young children are reporting concerns related to socialization and mental wellbeing. These results also highlight the impact of the pandemic on pre-existing inequities among racialized, Indigenous, and immigrant families in Canada.

Authors

• Sarah J Dow-Fleisner, University of British Columbia (UBC)
  Presenting Author

• Michelle Belliveau, Center for the Study of Services to Children and Families