Abstract
The spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), and the consequential first italian lockdown to minimize viral transmission, have resulted in many significant changes in the every-day lives of families, with an increased risk of parental burnout. This study explores the impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown in Italy on parental distress and parental perceptions of children’s executive functions (EFs). Participants were 308 Italian parents with children between 4 and 17 years of age; they were recruited through online advertisements on websites and social media, and they were given an online survey. The measures were: the balance between risks and resources (BR2) and the executive functioning self-report (EF). Findings of the study suggest that the most distressed parents perceived their children as less competent in EF, highlighting a cognitive fragility on attention, memory, and self-regulation (Pearson correlation coefficient, p < 0.05); significant differences were found between parents of children exhibiting typical and atypical patterns of development (ANOVA, p < 0.05). The study reinforces the need to provide families with psychological aid to support parental competence in restrictive lockdown conditions.
Highlights
From 10 March to 17 May, 2020, the Italian government imposed a national lockdown to limit viral transmission of COVID-19
The current study provided a multifaceted investigation of parental distress and parental perception of children’s executive functions (EFs) following the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID19) pandemic and the first lockdown in Italy
The findings of this study suggest that the first COVID-19 lockdown strongly influenced parental distress and their resources as well as parental perception of their children on working memory, attention, and shifting tasks, especially in the case of previous atypical development conditions
Summary
From 10 March to 17 May, 2020, the Italian government imposed a national lockdown to limit viral transmission of COVID-19. This period, lasting about 70 days, was characterized by severe social restriction measures, including domestic confinement, working from home, closure of non-essential businesses, and closure of all schools with distance learning. Other additional conditions included the lack of personal space at home and family uncertainty, concerning economic status or inadequate supplies (food, drugs, and safety devices) [1,2,3,4]. Following a break-down of borders between work and home, parents faced several pressing concerns, rearranging their work/children’s schedules, as well as their children’s education routines, because of school closures. Children were asked to re-arrange their routines by giving up all out-of-home and after-school activities, ranging from sports/recreational activities to social relationships with peers [5,6]
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