Trajectories of Parental Daily Stress: An Ecological Momentary Assessment Study during the COVID-19 Lockdown.

The COVID-19 pandemic was a source of significant stress due to health and safety concerns and measures to control the virus' spread, such as mobility restrictions. This measure was especially demanding for parents with school aged children, who had to find new work-family balance as their children participate in online education while attempting to work remotely. To evaluate parents' stress trajectories during the pandemic, we conducted Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMAs) during lockdown for 29 days in 68 families in Santiago, Chile. In addition, we evaluated the role of educational level and income, co-parenting, and number of children in parents' stress trajectories. Our results showed that during the first weeks of lockdown expected protective factors (i.e., income and co-parental support) were not able to influence parents' daily stress management. Moreover, parents with higher educational levels reported worse stress adaptation than less educated parents. On the other hand, co-parental conflict was significantly associated with parent's stress. Our study captured an acute response to COVID-19 related challenges. This study contributes to understanding how parents adjust to stress during adverse circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Online intervention to prevent postnatal depression and anxiety in Chilean new mothers: Protocol for a feasibility trial.

Symptoms of postpartum depression and anxiety in new mothers are prevalent and negatively impact maternal emotional wellbeing and infant development. Barriers to accessing treatment prevent women from receiving mental health care, a situation that has worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. mHealth interventions hold the potential to support women during the transition to parenthood despite these barriers and to promote the use of preventive interventions. This study uses a mixed methods design to assess the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a psychoeducational, guided mHealth intervention to prevent postpartum mental health difficulties in women who receive care in primary health centers in Chile. The study will contribute to evidence-based research on the effectiveness of mHealth interventions for new mothers from an understudied cultural background. The findings will also enable the development of a larger randomized controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of the intervention, which, if effective, could significantly contribute to the emotional wellbeing of women and their families.

Adapting to Adversity: Effects of COVID-19 on Parenting in Chile

The pandemic outbreak in March 2020 and its associated sanitary regulations and restrictions triggered an abrupt and significant change for society in general and for families’ organization in particular. In Chile, the Santiago Metropolitan District was under a strict lockdown that involved the closure of the entire educational system. From a systemic-family stress perspective, the impact of these changes might have consequences not only for each individual family member, but for the parental dynamic and, consequently, for children’s well-being. This paper presents the results of a follow-up study showing changes in self-reported parental depression and the perceived home organization of mothers and fathers assessed at three different moments: before the pandemic, at the initial outbreak, and after 1 month of strict lockdown. Relevant moderators were explored using linear mixed models to understand the within-subject changes in mothers’ and fathers’ self-reports across the different assessment times. Financial strain, personality traits of self-criticism and dependency, previous parent–child quality interaction, recent major stressful events, and number of children are highlighted as relevant factors that moderate changes in home chaos and parental mental health perception. Significant risks and protective factors are described for fathers and mothers. The use of pre-pandemic measures as baseline levels enabled the identification of personal and family characteristics that were related to better outcomes. The results help increase our understanding of the sanitary regulations’ impacts on the family system and identify vulnerability indicators that should be considered.