Predictive Models of Maternal Harsh Parenting During COVID-19 in China, Italy, and Netherlands.
Front Psychiatry
; 12: 722453, 2021.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1441150
ABSTRACT
Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic drastically impacted on family life and may have caused parental distress, which in turn may result in an overreliance on less effective parenting practices.Objective:
The aim of the current study was to identify risk and protective factors associated with impaired parenting during the COVID-19 lockdown. Key factors predicting maternal harsh discipline were examined in China, Italy, and the Netherlands, using a cross-validation approach, with a particular focus on the role of allomaternal support from father and grandparents as a protective factor in predicting maternal harshness.Methods:
The sample consisted of 900 Dutch, 641 Italian, and 922 Chinese mothers (age M = 36.74, SD = 5.58) who completed an online questionnaire during the lockdown.Results:
Although marital conflict and psychopathology were shared risk factors predicting maternal harsh parenting in each of the three countries, cross-validation identified a unique risk factor model for each country. In the Netherlands and China, but not in Italy, work-related stressors were considered risk factors. In China, support from father and grandparents for mothers with a young child were protective factors.Conclusions:
Our results indicate that the constellation of factors predicting maternal harshness during COVID-19 is not identical across countries, possibly due to cultural variations in support from fathers and grandparents. This information will be valuable for the identification of at-risk families during pandemics. Our findings show that shared childrearing can buffer against risks for harsh parenting during COVID-19. Hence, adopting approaches to build a pandemic-proof community of care may help at-risk parents during future pandemics.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Etiology study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Randomized controlled trials
Language:
English
Journal:
Front Psychiatry
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Fpsyt.2021.722453
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