Parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic: Mental health, coping, and preventative behavior

Le résumé fourni par la source

Information on well-being trends for professionals supporting families during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is critical, particularly when there are indications of differential impacts for some families (e.g. by parent gender, partner status, or economic indicators of disadvantage). This study provides information about individual and relational stressors, routine disruption, and their impacts on parents, with implications for viral transmission prevention behaviors in the home. Baseline data were collected (n = 320 parents; average age 35.84, 54% female) on April 27–28, 2020, 5 weeks after the first U.S. quarantines began. Follow-up data were collected 30 days later. Results indicated concerning levels of mental health symptoms among parents, including elevated stressors and disruptions to routines for parents and children. Multivariate linear regressions indicated parents’ gender, partner status, COVID-specific stress appraisals, depression, and coping strategies explained between 28.9% and 73.8% of adherence with the preventative behavior guidelines issued by the Center for Disease Control. The results have implications not only for pandemic response but for parents coping with transient illnesses. Implications for behavioral health professionals are clear – managing distress is essential for compliance with disease mitigation strategies. This work provides novel insights into the parents’ complex demands during an unprecedented public health crisis, with compelling implications for family wellbeing.

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