Parents' perceived stress and children's adjustment during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy: The mediating role of family resilience

Objective: This study aimed to explore the role of family resilience in the relationship between parents' psychological stress and their perceptions of children's emotional and behavioral symptoms during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy. Background: The COVID-19 lockdown threatened the well-being of parents, with a potentially cascading effect on children's adjustment. However, the negative impact of parents' stress on children's well-being may be attenuated in resilient families. Method: During the Italian lockdown, an online survey was administered to 649 parents of at least one child aged between 5 and 17 years. Respondents completed the survey themselves and their child(ren). The Perceived Stress Scale, the Walsh Family Resilience Questionnaire, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were administered to parents. Results: Results show that family resilience is a key mechanism in the association of parents' perceived stress with their perceptions of children's emotional symptoms, prosocial behavior, and hyperactivity and that only parents' marital status moderates this relationship. Conclusion: The intervening role of family resilience emphasizes the need to empower parents and families during the pandemic crisis. Implications: By strengthening family resilience, family resources maybe strengthened to meet new challenges more effectively.

Identifying dying concerns in dyads of African American parents with advanced cancer (aapwac) with dependent children and their co-parent/significant other: A phenomenological study

Background: Half of the population with cancer who are aged 20 to 54 years old will die from cancer with African Americans being 1.2 times more likely to die (NCI, 2019a;2021b). Parents with advanced cancer (PWAC) have concerns about their future and their remaining family's future, which causes suffering. Dying concerns are conscious/unconscious thoughts about death by a person facing a terminal illness or a family member coping with the impending death of a loved one (Arndt et al., 2006;Caparso et al., 2020;Kakuta et al., 2015). Purpose: Examine recruitment feasibility in PWAC and their co-parents.;and (2) Gain a shared understanding of the perspectives of the PWAC about the dying concerns family life before and after advanced cancer diagnosis and family resources to manage the crisis of advanced cancer for the co-parent following Gadamer's phenomenology and McCubbin and McCubbin's Family Resiliency Model.Methods: Four PWAC were recruited from Karmanos Cancer Center and Comprehensive Breast Care. Participants were diagnosed with advanced cancer, scored less than a 3 on the Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) scale, had at least one dependent child 18 years old or younger, identified a co-parent involved in care of the patient and children, and spoke English. Two semi-structured interviews were conducted, audio- video-recorded, and transcribed. The first interview was summarized and given to the participants for member-checking. Data analysis used the hermeneutic rule. All data was coded and verified between coders until consensus was reached.Results: Due to unforeseen circumstances and hospital restrictions of COVID-19, recruitment was challenging. Of 32 potential participants, 11 were approached and 4 consented. Completion of all study procedures for one participant took a little over a month. Completion of both interviews ranged about an hour and a half. Four themes regarding dying concerns emerged. Additional themes emerged which may have mediated the dying concern themes. Participants expressed co-parent concerns of "Uncertainty in End-of-Life Decisions", "Effectless Communication", "Parental Skepticism" and "Psychological Well-Being".Conclusions: PWAC have concerns for their co-parent in the event they die. Qualitatively understanding dying concerns from family members may improve communication between family members and healthcare providers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved)

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.

Child internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic among maltreating and non-maltreating families: Examining the effects of family resources and the Reminiscing and Emotion Training intervention.

BACKGROUND: The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on child functioning have been especially pronounced among low-income families. Protective factors, including sensitive reminiscing and sufficient family resources, may reduce the negative effects of the pandemic on child adjustment. OBJECTIVE: The current study investigated how family resources during the pandemic, race, maltreatment, and pre-pandemic involvement in an emotion socialization intervention (Myears ago = 4.37, SD = 1.36) were associated with child internalizing symptoms during the pandemic. PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING: The study utilized longitudinal data following 137 maltreating and low-income nonmaltreating mother-child dyads (Mage = 9.08, SD = 1.88; 54.7% Male). METHODS: Mother-child dyads engaged in a randomized controlled trial of the Reminiscing and Emotion Training (RET; Valentino et al., 2019) intervention prior to the pandemic. Dyads discussed shared, past emotional experiences, and during the pandemic, mothers reported on their family resources and their child's internalizing symptoms. A path analysis examined the effects of family resources, race, maltreatment, and the RET intervention on child internalizing symptoms. RESULTS: Family resources during the pandemic were significantly and inversely associated with child internalizing symptoms, b = -0.07, SE = 0.02, p < .01. There was a significant indirect effect of RET on child internalizing symptoms through sensitive reminiscing and a prior assessment of child maladjustment (95% CI [-0.294, -0.001]). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest adequate family resources and sensitive maternal emotion socialization may be protective against child internalizing symptoms during the pandemic.