Perceptions of Parenting during the COVID-19 Quarantine Period, in Suceava, the Epicenter of the COVID-19 Outbreak in Romania

Abstract

Recent findings suggest that quarantine adversely affects an individual's wellbeing. Social isolation generally leads to many negative psychological outcomes in child development and to significant shifts in parent-child relationships. The aim of the present research was to investigate three aspects of parenting during the COVID-19 quarantine: what activities parents performed better during the quarantine, what difficulties parents had during the quarantine, and what complaints children had living in Suceava, a city that saw the greatest number of infected individuals as well as the largest death toll amongst all regions in Romania. The respondents were 201 parents from Suceava, Romania (Mage = 36.71, SD = 7.22), who answered a self-reported questionnaire after a quarantine period of between 30 and 33 days (30.04.20-2.05.20) concerning three qualitative questions and items related to parenting activity, parent-child relationships, or child behaviors. Among the key findings, the research found that parents had a good perception of their parenting skills during the quarantine time, the most difficulties reported by parents were about the newly imposed social realities, and the most obvious unmet need of children was the lack of social interactions. The findings bring to light the perception of forced time spent together by parents and children. Further research should investigate how parenting fluctuates in crisis situations such as the one highlighted in this article.