Abstract
Since the initiation of the COVID-19 lockdown, Italian parents have been forced to manage their children at home. The present study aimed at investigating the psychological distress of parents during the lockdown, identifying contributing factors. An online survey was administered to 833 participants from 3 to 15 April 2020. Mediation and moderated mediation models were run to explore the association between parent neuroticism and parent distress, mediated by child hyperactivity–inattention and child emotional symptoms, and the moderating effect of living only with child(ren) on the direct and indirect effects of parent neuroticism on parent distress. For parents living only with child(ren), high levels of psychological distress depended exclusively on their levels of neuroticism. For parents living with at least one other person in addition to child(ren), distress levels were also mediated by child behavioral and emotional difficulties. Motherhood emerged as a significant factor contributing to greater distress. Furthermore, parent psychological distress decreased in line with increased child age. The results confirm that neuroticism is an important risk factor for mental health. Preventive measures should be primarily target multicomponent families with younger children and directed towards parents who are already known to present emotional instability and to parents of children who have received local mental health assistance for behavioral and/or emotional difficulties.
Highlights
Following the uncontrolled and exceptional spread of COVID-19, the Italian government imposed a lockdown on the entire country on 9 March 2020
Hyperactivity–Inattention subscale was positively correlated with parent distress and not correlated with living only with child(ren)
“parental role” showed significant negative associations with parent distress. These results revealed that the indirect effect of parent neuroticism on parent distress via child hyperactivity–inattention and child emotional symptoms was significant only for parents living with child(ren) and at least one other person, disconfirming Hypotheses 3b and 3c
Summary
Following the uncontrolled and exceptional spread of COVID-19, the Italian government imposed a lockdown on the entire country on 9 March 2020. Similar to lockdowns in other countries, the Italian lockdown has exposed parents to a long and unexpected period of managing their children’s care and schooling at home, while —for many—continuing to work remotely [1,2]. A recent review of the literature [3] highlighted that lengthy lockdowns may have a significant negative impact on mental health and well-being. Studies have reported that a long duration of quarantine may. Res. Public Health 2020, 17, 6236; doi:10.3390/ijerph17176236 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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