Explaining Variation in Parents' and Their Children's Stress During COVID-19 Lockdowns.

Theo Toppe,Naiera Amini,Roman Stengelin,Louisa S Schmidt,Nils Schuhmacher

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.645266

Abstract

The coronavirus pandemic poses a substantial threat to people across the globe. In the first half of 2020, governments limited the spread of virus by imposing diverse regulations. These regulations had a particular impact on families as parents had to manage their occupational situation and childcare in parallel. Here, we examine a variation in parents' and children's stress during the lockdowns in the first half of 2020 and detect the correlates of families' stress. Between April and June 2020, we conducted an explorative online survey among n = 422 parents of 3- to 10-year-old children residing in 17 countries. Most participants came from Germany (n = 274), Iran (n = 70), UK (n = 23), and USA (n = 23). Parents estimated their own stress, the stress of their own children, and various information on potential correlates (e.g., accommodation, family constellation, education, community size, playtime for children, contact with peers, media consumption, and physical activity). Parents also stated personal values regarding openness to change, self-transcendence, self-enhancement, and conservation. The results indicate a substantial variation in the stress levels of families and their diverse reactions to regulations. Media consumption by children commonly increased in comparison to the time before the pandemic. Parents raising both pre-school- and school-aged children were at a particular risk of experiencing stress in response to regulations. Estimated stress and reactions varied with the age of children and the personal values of parents, suggesting that such variables need to be considered when implementing and evaluating regulations and supporting young families in the current and future pandemic.

Highlights

In the first half of the year 2020, governments across the globe counteracted the spread of the novel coronavirus by enacting regulations, including lockdowns, proclamations for social distancing, home confinements, restrictions on private and public gatherings, and the closures of educational facilities
Doing so may help identify constellations that are of a particular risk and recognize the factors that may help buffer and counteract parental and children’s stress
The current study explored the potential correlates of psychosocial stress among parents and their children in response to COVID-19 regulations exhibited in the first half of 2020

Summary

Introduction

In the first half of the year 2020, governments across the globe counteracted the spread of the novel coronavirus by enacting regulations, including lockdowns, proclamations for social distancing, home confinements, restrictions on private and public gatherings, and the closures of educational facilities. It is no wonder that these circumstances resulted in a particular exposure to psychosocial distress among families (Campbell, 2020; Chung et al, 2020; Janssen et al, 2020; Jiao et al, 2020; Miller et al, 2020; Zhou et al, 2020; Moscardino et al, 2021; Ravens-Sieberer et al, 2021; Volk et al, 2021) Despite these strains posed by Covid-19 regulations, the disruption of families’ lives varied considerably, leading to variation in parental stress levels (Brown et al, 2020; Janssen et al, 2020; Jentsch and Schnock, 2020). Doing so may help identify constellations that are of a particular risk and recognize the factors that may help buffer and counteract parental and children’s stress

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