Daily Stress and Use of Aggressive Discipline by Parents during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

To assess the relationship between stress throughout the day and aggressive discipline practices by parents during COVID-19 stay at home orders. For this study, participants took baseline survey online, then provided data three times a day (10 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m.) for 14 consecutive days using Ecological Momentary Assessment procedures. Data were collected from 323 participants, covering 9,357 observations from April 13 to May 27, 2020 in Central Ohio during stay-at-home orders due to COVID-19. Use of aggressive discipline, including corporal punishment and psychological aggression, was measured using the Dimensions of Discipline Inventory. For each higher level of stress, parents had 1.3 greater odds of using aggressive discipline. Having used aggressive discipline at baseline was related to three times greater odds of using it during the study period. Higher situational stress was associated with use of aggressive parenting. When combined with less contact with mandatory reporters, this places children at risk for abuse and neglect that may go without detection and intervention for longer time-periods. First responders and medical professionals become more important in identifying and reporting suspected child maltreatment, as this may be a child's only contact with a mandated professional for six months to a year. Well child visits, routine vaccinations, and problem-focused care are important opportunities to assess parents' stress and discipline practices that may be suggestive of abuse or neglect.

Stress, alcohol use, and punitive parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Emerging research suggests that parents are experiencing heightened stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parental stress is a risk factor for harsh or punitive parenting, and this association may be exacerbated by the use of alcohol. OBJECTIVE: We examine whether parental stress is associated with use of punitive parenting, as well as whether this association is modified by drinking pattern. PARTICIPANTS & SETTING: We used advertisements and word-of-mouth to recruit 342 parents living in Central Ohio during the initial stay-at-home order for COVID-19. METHODS: We used geographic ecological momentary assessment (gEMA) to measure parental stress and punitive parenting during three time periods (10 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9 p.m.) over a period of fourteen days using an app downloaded to their cellular telephone. Participants also completed a longer baseline survey. We used nested multilevel ordinal regression models, where at-the-moment assessments (Level 1) were nested within individuals (Level 2) to analyze data. RESULTS: Higher levels of parental stress [OR = 1.149 (95 % CI = 1.123, 1.176)] and later time of day [OR = 1.255 (95 % CI = 1.146, 1.373)] were positively related to odds of punitive parenting. Drinking pattern was not significantly related to punitive parenting in models with demographic covariates. Parents who drank alcohol both monthly and weekly and had higher levels of stress had greater odds of punitive parenting than parents with high levels of stress who abstain from alcohol. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol may be an accelerant in the use of punitive parenting for parents experiencing stress. As alcohol use increases during COVID-19, children may be at higher risk for punitive parenting.