Clinically significant depression among parents during the COVID-19 pandemic: Examining the protective role of family relationships

Responding to families at heightened risk for mental health burdens during the COVID-19 pandemic is critical—evidence suggests parents face elevated burdens compared to their nonparent counterparts. Building on studies that demonstrate a spillover of stress across domains and individuals within families, this study examines longitudinal predictors of elevated risks for clinical depression among parents based on relational family indicators, COVID-specific stressors, and stress and emotion regulation indicators. Baseline data were collected from parents (n = 176;average age 37.04, 50% female) on April 27–28, 2020, 5 weeks after the first U.S. quarantines began. Follow-up data were collected 30 days later. Results indicated concerning levels of parents’ mental health symptoms over this short time span, including elevated stressors and exacerbated mental health symptoms for approximately one-quarter of parents. Given the need for agile service responses for those at the greatest risk, this article examines predictions of clinically significant depression through binary logistic regression. These individuals were more likely to report greater anxiety and stress symptoms, as well as report less closeness in their parent–child relationships;couple satisfaction was not a significant predictor of depression. Implications include recommended agile responses to alleviate distress and expand access to mental health supports, particularly in light of pervasive shelter-in place orders that limit access to previously established coping supports and sources of social connection (e.g., schools or community centers), that are anticipated to recur in the months ahead. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved) © 2021 American Psychological Association

Thematic Analysis of Parent-Child Conversations About COVID-19: "Playing It Safe".

Caregivers have primary responsibility for teaching their children self-protective behaviors, including those behaviors recommended by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Parents have an important role in scaffolding adherence to the CDC recommendations and in managing stress and regulate their emotions to adaptively cope during uncertain times like those facing communities nationwide. The present study is a qualitative, thematic analysis of parent-reported (n = 210; 64.8% female; average age = 39.33; 14.3% ethnic/racial minority) interactions with children (focal child age: 25.2% birth to 5 years old, 36.7% 6 to 11 years old, 37.6% 12 to 18 years old) about topics associated to COVID-19-related viral transmission suppression guidelines and stress/coping behaviors. Themes included discussions about personal and social hygiene, and parent reported sources of child stress, and child stress management efforts. Findings from our thematic analysis indicate parents are motivated to make scaffolding personal hygiene fun and engaging, signaling a positive, developmentally appropriate native approach to their role as sources of coping socialization. These findings also underscore the importance of providing information to parents in ways that can be translated to children in developmentally appropriate conversations about viral transmission suppression activities and stress management during disasters.

Initial Challenges of Caregiving During COVID-19: Caregiver Burden, Mental Health, and the Parent-Child Relationship.

Research confirms that the mental health burdens following community-wide disasters are extensive, with pervasive impacts noted in individuals and families. It is clear that child disaster outcomes are worst among children of highly distressed caregivers, or those caregivers who experience their own negative mental health outcomes from the disaster. The current study used path analysis to examine concurrent patterns of parents' (n = 420) experience from a national sample during the early months of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic. The results of a multi-group path analysis, organized by parent gender, indicate good fit to the data [X2(10) = 159.04, p < .01]. Results indicate significant linkages between parents' caregiver burden, mental health, and perceptions of children's stress; these in turn are significantly linked to child-parent closeness and conflict, indicating possible spillover effects for depressed parents and compensatory effects for anxious parents. The impact of millions of families sheltering in place during the COVID-19 pandemic for an undefined period of time may lead to unprecedented impacts on individuals' mental health with unknown impacts on child-parent relationships. These impacts may be heightened for families whose caregivers experience increased mental health symptoms, as was the case for fathers in the current sample.