School-age children adjustment during the COVID-19: The role of the quality of the parent-child relationship

• In Event: Factors affecting parenting during the Pandemic

Abstract

Studies on the evolution of children's adjustment problems over time during the COVID-19 pandemic have primarily compared data obtained shortly after the onset of the pandemic to previous data. These studies generally reported increased internalizing, externalizing and sleep problems during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (compared with pre-pandemic levels) (e.g. Ezpeleta, 2020; Raven, 2022; Celini, 2021; Hamatani, 2022). The few studies that have looked at the evolution of adjustment problems later during the pandemic also reported increases problems in the first stages of the pandemic, followed by a decrease later on (Waite, 2021; Orgilès, 2021). Very few studies have examined the link between the quality of the parent-child relationship and the child long-term adjustment in the pandemic context. More conflicts (Magson et al., 2021) and less closeness (Lionetti, 2022) with parents were predictive of more depressive symptoms and increased internalizing and externalizing problems in children during the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. However, these two studies did not consider sleep problems or the specific fear of Covid-19, nor did they assess changes in child adjustment at different times in the latter stages of the pandemic.

In this longitudinal study, we evaluated how the quality of the parent-child relationship (parent-child conflicts and closeness: CPRS; quality of attachment: IPPA-R) during the first lockdown were related to changes in internalizing, externalizing, sleep problems and fear of COVID-19 (CBCL, YSR, and FCV-19S) in 9-to-12 year old children during the first wave of COVID-19: lockdown (April-may, 2020), partial deconfinement (june-july, 2020) and full deconfinement (august-september, 2020).

Children who showed less conflicts in their parent-child relationship during lockdown had, on average, lower internalizing problems, sleep problems and fear of COVID-19. They also had lower externalizing problems at the three measurement times (all p < .001) (see Figure 1). Children who showed more secure attachment to their parent during lockdown had, on average, lower internalizing problems. They also had lower sleep problems, but only during lockdown (p < .001) (see Figure 2). On average, internalizing problems decreased between lockdown and deconfinement periods (all p < .001), but not between partial deconfinement and full deconfinement (all p > .10) (see Figures 1a and 2a). Externalizing problems decreased over time between lockdown, partial (p < .001) and full (p < .001) deconfinement for both conflict groups. However, difference between partial and full deconfinement was only significant for the high-conflicts group (p = .005) (see Figure 1c). Sleep problems decreased over the three measurement times in the less secure attachment group (all p < .05) but stay stable in the more secure attachment group (see Figure 2d). Other comparisons were not significant (see Figures 1 and 2).

The results highlight a decrease in problems for all children between the lockdown and deconfinement periods. Our results highlight the deleterious effect of conflicts in the parent-child relationship, on child adjustment in high-stress contexts. Reducing parent-child conflicts therefore seems to be an important strategy to put in place in such contexts, especially when families are confined together for long periods of time.

Authors

• Suffren Sabrina, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR)
  Presenting Author

• Jean-Pascal Lemelin, Université de Sherbrooke

• Marie Pier Daunais

• Diane St-Laurent, Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres

• Tristan Milot, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières

• Karine Dubois-Comtois, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR)