Parenting stress in autism: do children's characteristics still count more than stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic?

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) experience higher levels of stress than parents of typically-developing (TD) children, due to differences in their children's emotional functioning. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the cognitive and practical demands on vulnerable populations and their families. The aim of this study was to examine parenting stress levels in parents of children ASD and TD children, considering the children's emotional functioning (i.e., anxiety and cognitive emotion regulation strategies), and stressful life events deriving from the COVID-19 pandemic. The study involved 64 parent–child dyads comprising children from 7 to 16 years old, divided into two groups: 32 (26 M) children and adolescents with ASD but no intellectual disability, and 32 (26 M) with typical development. Our results show that parents of children with ASD reported higher levels of stress, but factors relating to the child and the context had a different influence on parenting stress in the ASD and TD groups. The higher level of parenting stress in the ASD group seemed to relate more to the children's emotional characteristics, while the TD group was more affected by the unpredictable stressful events prompted by COVID-19. Families' mental health should be considered a core aspect of supporting parents having to deal with both their child's emotional adjustment and the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Distance learning during the COVID-19 pandemic for children with ADHD and/or ASD: a European multi-center study examining the role of executive function deficits and age.

BACKGROUND: One of the COVID-19 pandemic consequences that has affected families the most is school lockdowns. Some studies have shown that distance learning has been especially challenging for families with a child with neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD or ASD. However, previous studies have not taken the heterogeneity of these disorders into account. The aim of the present study was therefore to investigate differences between families with a child with ADHD, ASD, or both conditions, and to examine the role of underlying deficits in executive functioning (EF) in both children and parents in relation to negative and positive effects of distance learning. METHODS: Survey data assessing both negative and positive experiences of distance learning were collected from parents with a child aged 5-19 years in seven Western European countries: the UK, Germany, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, and Belgium. Altogether, the study included 1010 families with a child with ADHD and/or ASD and an equally large comparison group of families with a child without mental health problems. We included measures of three different types of negative effects (i.e., effects on the child, effects on the parent, and lack of support from school) and positive effects on the family. RESULTS: Results confirmed that families with a child with ADHD, ASD or a combination of ADHD and ASD showed higher levels of both negative and positive effects of distance learning than the comparison group. However, few differences were found between the clinical groups. Group differences were more pronounced for older compared to younger children. Regarding the role of both ADHD/ASD diagnosis and EF deficits, primarily children's EF deficits contributed to high levels of negative effects. Parent EF deficits did not contribute significantly beyond the influence of child EF deficits. Families of children with ADHD/ASD without EF deficits experienced the highest levels of positive effects. CONCLUSIONS: School closings during COVID-19 have a major impact on children with EF problems, including children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The present study emphasizes that schools should not focus primarily on whether a student has a neurodevelopmental disorder, but rather provide support based on the student's individual profile of underlying neuropsychological deficits.

Distance Learning Effects Among Italian Children and Parents During COVID-19 Related School Lockdown

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, both children and their parents experienced consequences related to distance learning (DL). However, positive and negative effects have varied greatly among families, and the specific factors explaining these differences in experiences are still underexplored. In this study, we examined children's executive functions (EF) and parents' psychological well-being in relation to negative and positive effects of DL on both children and their parents. Method: Participants were 637 Italian parents (92% mothers) with a child (48% male) aged between 6 and 19 years involved in DL due to school closures during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected using an online survey. We performed three fixed-order hierarchical multiple regression analyses with child age and sex, children's EF deficits, and parents' psychological well-being as independent variables, and DL-related negative effects (on the child and on the parent) and DL-related positive effects as dependent variables. Results: The results of the regression analyses showed that for negative effects of DL, younger age and greater EF deficits explained most part of the variance. Specifically, regarding negative effects on children, the most important factor was EF deficits, whereas regarding negative effects on parents, child age was the most important factor. For positive effects of DL, all variables explained only a small part of the variance. Child age was the most important factor, but EF deficits and parents' psychological well-being also had a significant impact. Conclusions: The effects of DL during school closures vary widely across families. Our findings indicate that intervention efforts need to consider background variables, child factors, as well as parent factors when supporting families with homeschooling in times of pandemic.

Parental stress during COVID-19: A brief report on the role of distance education and family resources in an Italian sample.

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, school closures have affected over 1.5 billion children worldwide. Many countries implemented a rapid transition to distance education (DE), but the effects of such transition on family life remain largely underexplored. The current study used a cross-sectional, correlational survey design to explore the role of DE and family resources (parenting self-efficacy and family functioning) in perceived stress among Italian parents of first-grade children (N = 89). Results of hierarchical multiple regression indicated that, after controlling for stressful events experienced during school closure, parents' difficulty to manage children's DE was positively linked to levels of stress. However, this association became nonsignificant after adding family resources to the model, with more parental self-efficacy and good family functioning predicting less perceived stress. The findings underscore the importance of supporting positive resources within the family environment to reduce DE-related parental stress in the context of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Parental experiences of homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic: differences between seven European countries and between children with and without mental health conditions.

The aim of the present study was to examine parental experiences of homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic in families with or without a child with a mental health condition across Europe. The study included 6720 parents recruited through schools, patient organizations and social media platforms (2002 parents with a child with a mental health condition and 4718 without) from seven European countries: the UK (n = 508), Sweden (n = 1436), Spain (n = 1491), Belgium (n = 508), the Netherlands (n = 324), Germany (n = 1662) and Italy (n = 794). Many parents reported negative effects of homeschooling for themselves and their child, and many found homeschooling to be of poor quality, with insufficient support from schools. In most countries, contact with teachers was limited, leaving parents with primary responsibility for managing homeschooling. Parents also reported increased levels of stress, worry, social isolation, and domestic conflict. A small number of parents reported increased parental alcohol/drug use. Some differences were found between countries and some negative experiences were more common in families with a child with a mental health condition. However, differences between countries and between families with and without a mental health condition were generally small, indicating that many parents across countries reported negative experiences. Some parents also reported positive experiences of homeschooling. The adverse effects of homeschooling will likely have a long-term impact and contribute to increased inequalities. Given that school closures may be less effective than other interventions, policymakers need to carefully consider the negative consequences of homeschooling during additional waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics.