Parenting under pressure: Parental transmission and buffering of child fear during the COVID‐19 pandemic

The Role of Parental Verbal Threat Information in Children's Fear Acquisition: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Children can acquire fears of novel stimuli as a result of listening to parental verbal threat information about these stimuli (i.e., instructional learning). While empirical studies have shown that learning via parental information occurs, the effect size of parental verbal threat information on child fear of a novel stimulus has not yet been measured in a meta-analysis. We conducted a systematic review and meta analysis to assess the effect of parents' verbal statements on their children's fear acquisition. Additionally, we explored potential moderators of this effect, namely, parent and child anxiety levels, as well as child age. WebOfScience, Pubmed, Medline, and PsycINFO were used to identify eligible studies that assessed children's (30 months to 18 years old) fear of novel stimuli after being exposed to parental verbal threat information. We selected 17 studies for the meta-analysis and 18 for the systematic review. The meta-analysis revealed a significant causal effect of parental verbal threat information on children's fear reaction towards novel stimuli [g = 1.26]. No evidence was found for a moderation of verbal learning effects, neither by child or parent anxiety levels nor by child age. The effect of parents' verbal threat information on children's fear of novel stimuli is large and not dependent on anxiety levels or child age.

Family functioning buffers the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for children's quality of life and loneliness

COVID-19 resulted in mass quarantine measures early in the pandemic. This disruption of daily life widened inequities and made children one of the most vulnerable populations during the crisis. This national, cross-sectional "COVID-Kids" study collected data from almost 500 parent-child dyads using standardized measures to better understand the effects of COVID exposure and impact on children's quality of life and loneliness. Data were collected via social media from May to July 2020. According to parent proxy and child self-report, United States children experienced worse quality of life (p < 0.0001; d = 0.45 and 0.53) and greater child-reported loneliness (p < 0.0001) when compared to normative, healthy samples (i.e., children who do not have a chronic medical condition). Older children (r = 0.16, p = 0.001) and female children (r = 0.11, p = 0.02) reported greater loneliness. Higher child-reported family functioning scores were associated with better quality of life (r = 0.36, p < 0.0001) and less loneliness (r = -0.49, p < 0.0001). Moderated mediation analyses indicated the indirect effect of parent COVID impact on the association between COVID exposure and child quality of life was weaker in the context of better family functioning. Results of this study raise concern for the short-and long-term sequelae of the pandemic on the physical and mental health of children. Healthcare providers and researchers must find new and innovative ways to protect the well-being of children. Strengthening family functioning may buffer the effects of the pandemic and improve overall quality of life in our "COVID Kids."

"Covid-19 is dangerous": The role of parental verbal threat information on children's fear of Covid-19

INTRODUCTION

Theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that the effect of parental verbal threat information on the offspring's fear acquisition of novel stimuli may be causal. The current study investigated this verbal fear acquisition pathway from parents to children in the unique context of Covid-19 as a novel environmental threat for parents and children.

METHODS

Using an online cross-sectional survey, we collected data about fear of Covid-19, parent-child communication, parental anxiety, and child temperament, in the period between June 11th 2020 and May 28th 2021. Participants were 8 to 18-year-old children (N = 195; M_age  = 14.23; 113 girls) and their parents (N = 193; M_age  = 47.82; 146 mothers) living in the Netherlands.

RESULTS

Children of parents with stronger Covid-19 fears also reported stronger Covid-19 fears. Moreover, parents who were more fearful of Covid-19 provided more threat-related information about the virus to their children. More parental threat information in turn was related to stronger fear of Covid-19 in their children, and partly mediated the link between parent and child fear of the virus. The link between parental threat information and children's fear of Covid-19 was not moderated by child temperament or parental anxiety.

CONCLUSIONS

Parental communication about Covid-19 may play a role in children's fear acquisition of Covid-19. The lack of moderation of this link by parental anxiety and child temperament may reflect the potentially adaptive nature of verbal fear transmission during the first year of the pandemic and the nonclinical levels of fear in this community sample.