Social support as a mediator between anxiety and quality of sleep among Chinese parents of special children.

Objective: The psychological problems among Chinese parents of special children (mental retardation, limb disorder, hearing impairment, autism, cerebral palsy and other types) should be paid more attention. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between anxiety, social support, coping style and sleep quality among Chinese parents of special children during the early COVID-19 epidemic, so as to provide more help for the mental health of parents of special children scientifically and effectively. Method: A total of 305 Chinese parents of special children were invited to accomplish four questionnaires. Anxiety was measured by the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, social support was evaluated by the Perceived Social Support Scale, sleep quality was assessed by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and coping style was measured by the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire. Results: This study revealed that anxiety was positively correlated with sleep quality (p < 0.01) and negatively correlated with social support (p < 0.01) and coping style (p < 0.01). Sleep quality was negatively correlated with social support (p < 0.01), but not significantly correlated with coping style (p > 0.05). Social support was positively correlated with coping style (p < 0.01). The study confirmed that social support had a partial mediating effect on the relationship between anxiety and sleep quality. Conclusion: The anxiety of parents of special children not only directly affects sleep quality, but also indirectly affects sleep quality through social support. Social support can alleviate the impact of anxiety on sleep quality through the mediating role.

Chinese parents' willingness to vaccinate their children against COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Introduction: To evaluate Chinese parents' willingness to vaccinate their children against COVID-19, identify its predictors, and provide a reference for raising the COVID-19 vaccination rate for children. Method: PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and the databases in Chinese, including CNKI, WanFang, VIP, CBM, were searched from December 2019 to June 2022, and citation tracking was used to identify relevant studies. To calculate the rate with 95% confidence intervals (CI), a random-effects model was used. To explore sources of heterogeneity, sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis were conducted. This analysis was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022346866) and reported in compliance with the PRISMA guidelines. Result: Overall, 80 studies were screened, and 13 studies with 47994 parents were included after removing duplicates and excluding 19 studies that did not meet the selection criteria by title, abstract and full-text screening. The pooled willingness rate of Chinese parents to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 was 70.0% (95% CI: 62.0~78.0%). Level of education, perceived susceptibility of children infected with COVID-19, and parental attitudes toward vaccination (such as perceived efficacy and safety of the COVID-19 vaccines, parental willingness to vaccinate themselves, parental vaccination hesitancy, and the history of children's vaccination against influenza) were the main predictors of parents' intention to vaccinate their children. Discussion: Chinese parents' willingness to vaccinate their children against COVID-19 is moderate, and factors including parental education level, perceived susceptibility of children infected with COVID-19, and parental attitudes toward vaccination affect this decision. Fully identifying these factors and their mechanism will be essential to further raise the willingness rate. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/, identifier: CRD42022346866.

The Associations Between Parental Burnout and Mental Health Symptoms Among Chinese Parents With Young Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused numerous unexpected changes for families and societies, which have likely contributed to higher amounts of stress for most parents. This study aimed to examine the relationship between burnout and mental health among parents during the COVID-19. Pandemic exposure and household factors (e.g., family structure, family function) were examined as moderators. An online cross-sectional survey recruiting 1,209 adults was conducted from April 21st to April 28th, 2020 during the COVID-19 lockdown in China. The multivariable linear regression analysis was employed to test the association between burnout, household factors, and mental health among parents. Findings suggested that for parents with a young child, poorer mental health was related to a higher level of burnout (ß = 0.220, P < 0.001) and greater exposure to the pandemic. Mothers of a single and/or young child had considerably poorer mental health. Moreover, the relationship between mental health and burnout among parents was significantly moderated by epidemic exposure (ß = 2.561, P < 0.001), family structure (number of children: ß = -1.257, P < 0.001; first child age: ß=-1.116, P < 0.001) and family function (ß = -0.574, P < 0.05). This study indicated that burnout symptoms were significantly associated with worse mental health among parents in China. Besides, exposure to the pandemic, family structure, and family function was found to moderate the association between burnout and mental health among parents. Therefore, the present study stressed enhanced access to mental health resources and emotional supports for parents during a public crisis to reduce the deleterious effects of burnout.

The cross-sectional survey on COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and it predictors among Chinese parents of 3-17 years aged children in Shenzhen City.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Vaccinations programs on 3-17 years aged children in China have been launched in some cities since July 2021; and comparative evaluations are important to push the programs forward. Therefore, this study is conducted to explore the COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and it predictors among Chinese parents of 3-17 years aged children; and their willingness to vaccinate their child/children. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted based on the online survey; and 3484 participants were recruited in health centers of Shenzhen, China. RESULTS: The prevalence of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy was 20.7% among Chinese parents of 3-17 years aged children; and 2976 participants (89.0%) were reported to be willing or very willing to accept a COVID-19 vaccine for their child/children. Perceived trust degree of a COVID-19 vaccine (OR: 0.766), and perceived effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine (OR: 0.455) were negatively associated with vaccine hesitancy. Perceived risk degree of a COVID-19 vaccine (OR: 1.485) positively predicted vaccine hesitancy. Parents with a higher educational level (OR: 0.518) and working in public institution (OR: 0.741) had a lower level of vaccine hesitancy; whereas, parents with liberal professionals had a higher level of vaccine hesitancy (OR: 1.378). CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicated that Chinese parents of 3-17 years aged children in Shenzhen City had a higher level of COVID-19 vaccine acceptability, compared with adults in Western counties. The significant factors of perceived trust degree, effectiveness, and risk degree of a COVID-19 vaccine, parents' educational level and occupation could predict COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy. The research results can be useful in supporting the development of effective and targeted children COVID-19 vaccination campaigns in China and worldwide.

Chinese Younger Parents' Quality of Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Do Job Changes and Family Conflicts Matter?

The quality of life (QoL) might have been decreased owing to social disruptions in daily life and basic functioning after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This work aims to examine the relationship between job changes, family conflicts, and QoL among parents during COVID-19 in China. We recruited 1,209 adults through an online cross-sectional survey in China during the COVID-19 lockdown from April 21 to April 28, 2020. Convenient and cluster sampling methods were used to recruit parents. The global health items in the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) were used as a measurement for QoL. Data were mainly analyzed by multiple linear regression with SPSS. Both marital conflict (ß = -0.243, p < 0.001) and parent-child conflict (ß = -0.119, p = 0.001) were negatively associated with the QoL among parents during the lockdown. Job changes moderated the relationship between marital conflict and QoL (ß = -0.256, p = 0.022). In addition, the interaction effects of job changes and family conflict on QoL were significant only among fathers and one-child families. This study indicated that family conflict was a crucial factor correlated with QoL among young parents in the backdrop of the COVID-19 lockdown. Job changes could interact with marital conflict and parent-child conflict on the quality of life.

An analysis of mother stress before and during COVID-19 pandemic: The case of China.

In this study, the authors aimed to examine relations between mothers' stress (PSI-SF) and their children during the COVID-19 pandemic confinement in mainland China (N = 274; mean age = 32.95, SD = 5.59). Our analyses revealed mothers identified more stress problems during the confinement than before including Difficult Child, Parental Distress, and Parent-Child Dysfunctional Interaction, which predicted requests for clinical or parents support services. Mothers living in rural areas reported less stress. Single mothers and those in small households displayed a higher level of stress. Our research results may assist policymakers, professionals, and researchers to design support needed to promote families' psychological well-being.