ABSTRACT
The present study aimed to characterize the immediate impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on families with preschool age children and to identify pre-pandemic factors that explained unique family experiences. We leveraged an ongoing longitudinal study of relatively well-resourced community families who had reported on family functioning prior to the pandemic and completed surveys 6 months after pandemic onset. Both parents of dual parenting households endorsed significant hardships as a direct result of the pandemic (e.g., disrupted family routines, challenges at work); however, families also reported aspects of flourishing (i.e., experiencing positive outcomes in response to adversity) such as spending more time together as a family. Families were prone to greater hardships and fewer opportunities for growth to the extent that parents were lower in psychological resources (i.e., greater stress and internalizing symptoms, poor well-being) and were not on the same page as a couple (i.e., interparental discord, low quality coparenting) prior to pandemic onset. Finally, greater pandemic hardships predicted poorer parental mental health, greater family dysfunction, and elevated child psychopathology, controlling for pre-pandemic levels. Parents who reported more family flourishing from the pandemic had a stronger interparental relationship. Results are intended to inform theories of family stress and family interventions that can be tailored to promote resiliency (i.e., adaptation to challenging life events) and prevent dysfunction when families face rapid change and adjustment and high degrees of uncertainty and stress.
ABSTRACT
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has precipitated substantial global disruption and will continue to pose major challenges. In recognition of the challenges currently faced by family scientists, we share our perspectives about conducting family research in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are two primary issues we address in this article. First, we present a range of potential solutions to challenges in research, resulting from the pandemic, and discuss strategies for preserving ongoing research efforts. We discuss approaches to scaling back existing protocols, share ideas for adapting laboratory-based measures for online administration (e.g., using video chat platforms), and suggest strategies for addressing missing data and reduced sample size due to lower participation rates and funding restrictions. We also discuss the importance of measuring COVID-19 relevant factors to use as controls or explore as moderators of primary hypotheses. Second, we discuss how the COVID-19 pandemic represents a scientifically important context for understanding how families adjust and adapt to change and adversity. Increased stress precipitated by the pandemic, varying from acute stress associated with job loss to more chronic and enduring stress, will undoubtedly take a toll. We discuss ways that family scientists can contribute to pandemic-related research to promote optimal family functioning and protect the health of family members.
La pandemia de la enfermedad por coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) ha precipitado una alteración mundial considerable y continuará planteando grandes dificultades. En reconocimiento de las dificultades que enfrentan actualmente los científicos especializados en familias, compartimos nuestras perspectivas acerca de llevar a cabo investigaciones sobre la familia en el contexto de la pandemia de la COVID-19. Hay dos cuestiones principales que abordamos en este artículo. Primero, presentamos varias posibles soluciones a las dificultades que surgen como consecuencia de la pandemia y explicamos estrategias para mantener los esfuerzos de las investigaciones en curso. Debatimos la necesidad de reducir los protocolos existentes, compartimos ideas para adaptar medidas basadas en laboratorios y administrarlas en línea (p. ej.: el uso de plataformas de videollamadas), y sugerimos estrategias para abordar datos faltantes y un tamaño reducido de las muestras debido a los índices más bajos de participación y a las restricciones de financiación. También debatimos la importancia de medir factores relevantes de la COVID-19 para usar como controles o analizar como moderadores de hipótesis principales. Segundo, explicamos cómo la pandemia de la COVID-19 representa un contexto científicamente importante para comprender cómo las familias se ajustan y adaptan al cambio y a la adversidad. El aumento del estrés precipitado por la pandemia, que varía de un estrés agudo asociado con la pérdida del empleo a un estrés más crónico y duradero, indudablemente causará estragos. Debatimos las maneras en que los científicos de familia pueden contribuir a investigaciones relacionadas con la pandemia a fin de promover un funcionamiento familiar óptimo y proteger la salud de los miembros de la familia.