ABSTRACT
The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 and consequent quarantine policies have substantially altered family lives worldwide. Potential associations between parental negative emotional expressions towards the pandemic, family factors, and child psychological adjustment remain under-explored. Accordingly, the goal of the present study was to examine the relation between maternal panic over COVID-19 and children's depressive symptoms, with a focus on the potential moderating role of children's daily routines during a period of strict quarantine. Participants were N = 1,589 children (M age = 13.13 years, SD = 1.54; 50.7% girls) and their mothers, from Zhengzhou, Henan Province, in Mainland China. Data were collected in April of 2020, when school closure policies were in effect. Mothers reported their panic over COVID-19 and children reported their depressive symptoms and daily routines during the quarantine period. Overall, results indicated a significant positive association between maternal panic over COVID-19 and child depressive symptoms. However, maintaining regular daily routines was found to be a significant moderator of this association, with higher levels of daily routines attenuating the link between maternal panic reactions and child psychological distress (i.e., buffering effect). The results highlight the protective role of regular daily routines in promoting psychological adjustment among Chinese children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-022-04129-0.
ABSTRACT
Family lives have been changed dramatically due to the stay-at-home orders implemented during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. A variety of factors serve to increase the risk for children and adolescents in developing mental health issues during the prolonged stay-at-home period. The primary aim of this study was to examine a complex conceptual model linking daily routines, parent-child conflict, and indices of psychological maladjustment during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large sample of Chinese children and adolescents. Participants were N = 1,594 children and adolescents (50.6% girls; Mage = 13.13, SDage = 1.54) and their mothers, from Zhengzhou in Mainland China. Multisource assessments include youth self-reports of loneliness, depressive symptoms, and perceived conflict with parents during the stay-at-home period, as well as maternal reports of their child's daily routines during this time. Among the results, parent-child conflict mediated the relations between daily routines and indices of psychological maladjustment, such that a lack of routine predicted greater parent-child conflict, which in turn was associated with higher levels of loneliness and symptoms of depression. Further, results from multiple group analyses revealed that associations between daily routines and maladjustment were stronger among boys than girls-as well as stronger among primary school children than middle school adolescents. Findings highlighted the importance of maintaining regular routines for children's and adolescents' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).