Parent mental health and child behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic
Francesca Scheiber1, Paige M Nelson1, Allison Momany1
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States.
Insights
Parental depression symptoms increased during the pandemic, impacting child behavior problems. Preterm birth did not affect these changes, but understanding parental mental health is key for child behavioral resources.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Developmental Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
Background:
- Child behavior, encompassing internalizing and externalizing symptoms, is vital for mental health, academic, and social outcomes.
- Parental mental health (PMH) and preterm birth are potential risk factors for child behavior (CB) problems.
- PMH difficulties are more prevalent in parents of preterm children, who may be more sensitive to environmental stressors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine changes in PMH and CB during the COVID-19 pandemic.
- To investigate the relationship between changes in PMH and CB.
- To determine if preterm children exhibit greater susceptibility to changes in PMH.
Main Methods:
- Longitudinal study involving parents who completed follow-up questionnaires on PMH and CB during the pandemic.
- Forty-eight parents participated in the follow-up assessments.
Main Results:
- Parental depression, children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms increased; parental well-being decreased during the pandemic.
- Changes in parental depression, not anxiety or well-being, correlated with changes in children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms.
- Prematurity did not moderate changes in PMH, CB, or the PMH-CB relationship.
Conclusions:
- Parental depression significantly impacts child behavior changes.
- Findings can inform strategies to support children's behavioral development.
- Preterm status did not alter the observed associations during the pandemic.
Objective:
Child behavior, which encompasses both internalizing and externalizing behaviors, is associated with many outcomes, including concurrent and future mental health, academic success, and social well-being. Thus, understanding sources of variability in child behavior is crucial for developing strategies aimed at equipping children with necessary resources. Parental mental health (PMH) difficulties and preterm birth may be risk factors for child behavior (CB) problems. Moreover, not only are PMH difficulties more common among parents of preterm children, but preterm children might also be more sensitive than full-term children to environmental stressors. In this study, we examined how PMH and CB changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, how change in PMH related to change in CB, and whether preterm children were more susceptible than full-term children to change in PMH.
Methods:
Parents that participated in a study prior to the pandemic were invited to complete follow-up questionnaires during the pandemic about PMH and CB. Forty-eight parents completed follow-up questionnaires.
Results:
Our results suggested that parental depression symptoms, children's internalizing symptoms, and children's externalizing symptoms significantly increased, and parental well-being significantly decreased during the pandemic. Change in parental depression symptoms, but not change in parental anxiety symptoms or parental well-being, was associated with change in children's internalizing and externalizing symptoms. Prematurity did not moderate change in PMH, change in CB, or the effect of change in PMH on change in CB.
Conclusion:
Our findings have the potential to inform efforts aimed at equipping children with behavioral resources.
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