The COVID‐19 lockdown and psychological distress among Italian parents: Influence of parental role, parent personality, and child difficulties

2-Year-olds' free play during the COVID-19 pandemic

Free play is a natural activity in toddlerhood, depending on environmental conditions like available objects and the social environment. The COVID-19 pandemic and its consequences for parents' mental health held the potential to change toddlers' play environment. This cross-sectional study investigated 2-year-olds' (N = 97) free play with objects, and aspects of caregiver mental well-being in three cohorts during the pandemic in Germany. Caregivers reported their positive mental health (PMH), threat perception, perception of current family situation from negative to positive, and workload. We categorized toddlers' behavior in free play sessions in their homes with a fixed set of objects through behavioral coding. Play behavior did not differ between cohorts and did not correlate with caregivers' positive mental health, threat perception, and perception of family situation. A MANOVA revealed a significant main effect of cohort on PMH, threat perception and perception of family situation, qualified by two discriminant functions. Full sample analyses revealed that toddlers of caregivers perceiving a workload increase compared to the time before the pandemic showed less pretend play, and less functional and nonfunctional play. The results provide insights into 2-year-olds' play behavior during a global pandemic and highlight the role of caregiver availability for children's play.

Family Functioning and the Pandemic: How Do Parental Perceived Social Support and Mental Health Contribute to Family Health?

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic and the quarantine measures implemented have profoundly impacted parents and families. The stress and uncertainty generated by the COVID-19 virus, as well as the disruption of routines and social relationships, have weakened both individual and family health and functioning.

OBJECTIVE

The present research is part of a larger study that aims to understand, with a family systems theory, the longitudinal effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on school-aged children, adolescents, and their parents. More specifically, this paper aims to investigate parents' experience of the first months of the pandemic as a predictor of perceived social support, parental ill-being (aggregate score of well-established poor psychological functioning indicators), parental satisfaction, and family functioning.

METHOD

During the first lockdown (April-May 2020), 203 parents of school-aged children living in Quebec completed an online questionnaire.

RESULTS

Path analysis indicates that the impact of COVID-19 and health preoccupation due to COVID-19 are both positively associated with individual parental ill-being, which in turn detracts from family functioning and parental satisfaction. Furthermore, perceptions about positive effects of the pandemic are negatively associated with parental ill-being, and positively with perceived social support, which in turn significantly contributes to family functioning and parental satisfaction.

CONCLUSION

The findings highlight the importance of adopting a systemic perspective to best understand the effects of the pandemic and the social and health measures on individuals, families, and systems, as well as to better support parents and family health through periods of uncertainty.

The relationship between subjective well-being and individual characteristics, personality traits, and choice of transport mode during the first lock-down in Milan, Italy

Introduction

Concerning the adverse effect of COVID-19 virus pandemic on subjective well-being and daily travel, this research sought to analyse which personal characteristics, personality traits, and transport modes are related to positive and negative affect, and satisfaction with life during the first lock-down in Milan, Italy.

Method

In the spring of 2020, an online survey was conducted in Milan, and 1025 responses were collected. Then, three Multinomial Ordinal Regression models (MNOR) are carried out to examine the relationship between the data.

Results

Results show that women were more likely to feel fewer positive emotions than men. More physical activity, and income were positively associated with the models. Significant relevance of personality traits with subjective well-being is reported Regarding daily mobility during the pandemic, transport mode after lock-down, satisfaction with public transport, and worry about using public transport were found relevant to subjective wellbeing.

Conclusions

Whereas the feeling of worry about using public transport increased the negative affect. Transport mode during lock-down was not related to subjective well-being, though the preferred mode of transport after lock-down was related to satisfaction with life. Respondents who chose to use private cars more than other modes of transport were more likely to have higher satisfaction with life. Findings are discussed to improve transport and mobility planning during pandemics.

Parents' depression and anxiety associated with hyperactivity-inattention and emotional symptoms in children during school closure due to COVID-19 in France

Several risk factors of children's mental health issues have been identified during the pandemic of COronaVIrus Disease first appeared in 2019 (COVID-19). This study aims to fill the knowledge gap regarding the association between parents' and children's mental health issues during the COVID-19 school closure in France. We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of data collected in the SAPRIS-ELFE study during the COVID-19 pandemic in France. Using multinomial logistic regressions, we estimated associations between parents' and children's mental health issues. Symptoms of anxiety were assessed by the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) and depression by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) for the parents. Hyperactivity/inattention and emotional symptoms in children were assessed by the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The sample included 3496 children aged 8 to 9 years, of whom 50.0% were girls. During the school closure, 7.1% of responding parents had moderate to severe levels of anxiety and 6.7% had moderate to severe levels of depression. A total of 11.8% of the children had an abnormal hyperactivity/inattention score and 6.6% had an abnormal emotional symptoms score. In multivariate regression models, parental moderate to severe level of anxiety and moderate to severe level of depression were associated with abnormal hyperactivity-inattention score (adjusted Odds Ratio (aOR) 3.31; 95% Confidence Interval (CI) 2.33-4.70 and aOR 4.65; 95% CI 3.27-6.59, respectively) and abnormal emotional symptoms score in children (aOR 3.58; 95% CI 2.33-5.49 and aOR 3.78; 95 CI 2.47-5.78 respectively). Children whose parents have symptoms of anxiety and/or depression have an increased likelihood of symptoms of hyperactivity/inattention and emotional symptoms during school closures in France due to COVID-19. Our findings suggest that public health initiatives should target parents and children to limit the impact of such crises on their mental health issues.

Emotional health assessment related to COVID-19 in older people: A cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND

The aim of this study was to assess the presence of anxiety, fear and psychological distress in the population of people over 65 years of age and to study possible differences with a sample of subjects aged between 60 and 65 years.

METHODS

A descriptive and psychometric cross-sectional study. The total sample used consisted of 1112 subjects from university training programmes for the old people from all over Spain. Anxiety and fear of COVID-19 were measured using the AMICO scale and psychological distress using the GHQ-12 instrument.

RESULTS

Significant differences were found in the AMICO (p = 0.006) and GHQ-12 (p = 0.03) measures between age subgroups, with lower values in older age groups. Contrast statistics showed significant differences on both measures (AMICO and GHQ) in women, single or widowed subjects, and those who had not been infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

LIMITATIONS

It would be desirable to increase the sample size, especially in the lower age group (<65). The establishment of the age limit between the two groups could be located at 60 years of age. The use of new technologies to get information should be considered.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, moderate levels of fear and anxiety of COVID-19 were present. Women tended to have higher levels of both general psychological distress and fear and anxiety of COVID-19. Especially in those over 65, higher levels of distress and fear/anxiety of COVID-19 were associated with being widowed or single, and not having been infected before with SARS-CoV-2.

How Has COVID-19 Affected Mental Health and Lifestyle Behaviors after 2 Years? The Third Step of a Longitudinal Study of Italian Citizens

The COVID-19 pandemic and its protective measures had a tremendous effect on the general population's mental health and deeply affected their lifestyle. The present study carried out a longitudinal analysis to evaluate the long-lasting psychological effects of the pandemic and its impact on the general population's day-to-day routine. Three points in time were considered: the initial period of the lockdown (T1; n = 2766; March 2020), the final period of the lockdown (T2; n = 439; May 2020) and two years after the lockdown (T3; n = 268; July 2022). Frequency analyses were carried out to examine which behavioral changes were maintained following the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown; furthermore, a repeated measures ANOVA test was run to measure differences in depression, stress, and anxiety levels between the three periods considered; lastly, multivariable ordinal logistic regression analyses were carried out to examine which variables were associated with psychological distress more than two years after the lockdown. The results highlighted that depression at T3 was associated with depression at T2 and negative affect, whereas stress at T3 was associated with stress at T2 and detachment. The psychological effects and lifestyle changes are also discussed.

The association between social determinants of health and psychological distress during the COVID-19 pandemic: a secondary analysis among four racial/ethnic groups

BACKGROUND

Racial disparities in psychological distress associated with COVID-19 remain unclear in the U.S. This study aims to investigate the associations between social determinants of health and COVID-19-related psychological distress across different racial/ethnic groups in the US (i.e., non-Hispanic Whites, Hispanic, non-Hispanic Asians, and non-Hispanic African Americans).

METHODS

This study used cross-sectional data from the 2020 California Health Interview Survey Adult Data Files (N = 21,280). Adjusting for covariates-including age, gender, COVID-19 pandemic challenges, and risk of severe illness from COVID-19-four sets of weighted binary logistic regressions were conducted.

RESULTS

The rates of moderate/severe psychological distress significantly varied across four racial/ethnic groups (p < 0.001), with the highest rate found in the Hispanic group. Across the five domains of social determinants of health, we found that unemployment, food insecurity, housing instability, high educational attainment, usual source of health care, delayed medical care, and low neighborhood social cohesion and safety were associated with high levels of psychological distress in at least one racial/ethnic group (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

Our study suggests that Hispanic adults face more adverse social determinants of health and are disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. Public health practice and policy should highlight social determinants of heath that are associated with different racial/ethnic groups and develop tailored programs to reduce psychological distress.

Associations of parenting daily hassles with parents' mental health during the COVID-19 school closure

RATIONALE

Parenting is a demanding task associated with parents' mental health, which is likely exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. The present study investigated daily parenting hassles and their effects on parents' mental health during this period.

METHODS

A total of 7314 parents with children aged 3-14 years old completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and reported on their perceived daily parenting hassles, mental health, family support, and co-parenting during the COVID-19 school closure.

RESULTS

Most parents (73.4%) showed different degrees of daily hassles, and a relatively higher prevalence of depression (18.7%), anxiety (22.4%), and stress (12.1%) were found. Motherhood, parents' younger ages, lower education parents, job loss, and having younger children, boys, and multiple children were associated with elevated daily parenting hassles and mental health issues. Importantly, daily parenting hassles were uniquely associated with mental health problems after controlling for various sociodemographic characteristics, family support, and co-parenting. Furthermore, family support and co-parenting can attenuate daily parenting hassles, which, in turn, protect parents' mental health.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings of the present study underscore the critical need to consider daily parenting hassles and their effects on the mental health of parents during the COVID-19 lockdown. The present study also outlines potential factors (family support and co-parenting) that attenuate parents' daily parenting hassles and protect their mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Child emotional and behavioral difficulties and parent stress during COVID-19 lockdown in Sri Lankan families

Introduction

Understanding parents’ and children’s mental health issues would help design population-specific intervention programs. The present study explored parents’ perceived stress and child emotions and behavior during the COVID-19 lockdown among Sri Lankan families.

Methods

A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Sri Lankan parents of children aged 11 to 17 years. Validated instruments (Perceived Stress Scale-PSS and Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire-SDQ) evaluated parental stress, child emotions, and hyperactivity/inattention. Multiple linear regression assessed the predictors of mental health issues, including the interaction between age and gender.

Results

Three hundred fifty-five parents responded to the survey (mothers:76%). One-third of parents experienced difficulties with their children during the pandemic. Emotions and hyperactivity-inattention problems measured via the SDQ scale were high among 38% of children, while the perceived stress was high in 79.2% of parents. Overall, child emotions and hyperactivity-inattention increased with decreasing age, increasing parent stress, having middle-income compared to high-income, and having a family member/close relative tested positive for COVID-19. Hyperactivity-inattention (29.3%) was more than the emotional problems (22%) among children. The emotional problems were reported more with increasing parent stress, while child hyperactivity-inattention alone was reported more with decreasing age, middle-income compared to high-income families, and increasing parent stress. Also, the interaction effect of age and gender indicated that higher age was related to greater parent-reported hyperactivity-inattention problems in males.

Conclusions

The findings highlight how the COVID-19 crisis and social isolation have contributed to increased parental stress and child emotional and hyperactivity-inattention problems. In addition to cautioning the healthcare workers, socio-culturally appropriate preventive and supportive mental health programs may help deal with further waves of COVID-19 or any other adverse circumstances.

Mental sequelae of the COVID-19 pandemic in children with and without complex medical histories and their parents: well-being prior to the outbreak and at four time-points throughout 2020 and 2021

The objective of this study is to understand the long-term mental sequelae for families over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic by longitudinally investigating the well-being of children with and without complex medical histories and their parents. Well-being of 200 children (between 7 and 18 years of age; 73 typically developing, 46 born very preterm, 73 with complex congenital heart disease) and 175 of their parents was assessed prior to and during the first (April-May 2020), second (October-November 2020), third (April-May 2021), and fourth wave (October-November 2021) of the pandemic with standardized questionnaires. Linear mixed models were used to investigate longitudinal changes in child and parent well-being compared to before the pandemic. Social and COVID-19-specific determinants were investigated as predictors of impaired well-being. To illustrate clinical relevance, the proportion of children and parents scoring > 1 SD below normative mean/median was reported. Compared to before the pandemic, child proxy-reported well-being was lower during the first but not the second, third, and fourth waves. Child self-reported well-being was not lower during the pandemic compared to before. Parent well-being dropped during the first wave and remained low throughout the subsequent waves. Proxy-reported child and self-reported parent well-being was lower in families with sparse social support and poor family functioning. Parents of typically developing children reported lower well-being than parents of children born very preterm or with a complex congenital heart disease. In November 2021, 20% of children (both self- and proxy-report) and 24% of parents scored below the normal range compared to 11% (child self-report), 10% (child proxy-report), and 16% (parent self-report), respectively, before the pandemic. The pandemic continues to impact the well-being of parents of school-aged children with and without complex medical histories more than 1 year after its outbreak. Children's well-being was specifically affected during the first wave of the pandemic and has recovered thereafter. Families with sparse social support and poor family functioning are particularly at risk for compromised well-being and support should be provided to them.

On What Tasks Did Children between the Ages of 3 and 12 Years Spend Their Time during the COVID-19 Pandemic? An International Comparative Study between Ibero-America and Europe

The pandemic caused by COVID-19 meant, in many countries, the establishment of a period of confinement in which families were forced to restrict movement and social contacts with the consequent risk of inactivity. Our objective as to analyze the degree of psychosocial well-being, sociodemographic aspects and use of technological means depending on the educational level of the parents. The sample consisted of 2316 children aged between 3 and 12 years (M = 7.70; SD = 2.86). For the analysis and treatment of the data, the statistical software SPSS 25.0 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA) was used. We found that the European participants used more video consoles (M = 0.89 ± 1.33) and tablets (M = 1.30 ± 0.95), while the Ibero-Americans obtained higher values in the use of TV (M = 2.28 ± 1.10) and levels higher in a negative state of psychosocial well-being (M = 7.29 ± 1.07) and in tiredness/fatigue (M = 4.34 ± 2.44). We concluded that, during the period of confinement in European areas, higher values were obtained in the time dedicated to Physical Activity (PA), use of tablets, school task performance, artistic activities, family games, reading, free play and hours of sleep; while in Ibero-America, there were longer times in the use of technological devices and performing domestic tasks.

Chinese Younger Parents' Quality of Life During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Do Job Changes and Family Conflicts Matter?

The quality of life (QoL) might have been decreased owing to social disruptions in daily life and basic functioning after the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. This work aims to examine the relationship between job changes, family conflicts, and QoL among parents during COVID-19 in China. We recruited 1,209 adults through an online cross-sectional survey in China during the COVID-19 lockdown from April 21 to April 28, 2020. Convenient and cluster sampling methods were used to recruit parents. The global health items in the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) were used as a measurement for QoL. Data were mainly analyzed by multiple linear regression with SPSS. Both marital conflict (β = −0.243, p < 0.001) and parent–child conflict (β = −0.119, p = 0.001) were negatively associated with the QoL among parents during the lockdown. Job changes moderated the relationship between marital conflict and QoL (β = −0.256, p = 0.022). In addition, the interaction effects of job changes and family conflict on QoL were significant only among fathers and one-child families. This study indicated that family conflict was a crucial factor correlated with QoL among young parents in the backdrop of the COVID-19 lockdown. Job changes could interact with marital conflict and parent–child conflict on the quality of life.

Parenting during the COVID-19 Lockdown in Portugal: Changes in Daily Routines, Co-Parenting Relationships, Emotional Experiences, and Support Networks

The COVID-19 pandemic challenged parental resources pertinent to coping with lockdowns. The main objective of this work was to study parenting during the COVID-19 lockdown. Specifically at focus were parental behaviors concerning key domains for the family (daily routine, co-parenting, emotional experience, and support network) and changes related to the pandemic and associated with the parents’ employment statuses. An online survey was carried out through an ad hoc questionnaire where participants completed questions about their sociodemographic data and rated how much their family routines, their co-parenting relationship, their emotional experiences, and the support available in the family network varied on a 5-point scale. The participants included 1384 parents, of which 286 responded to open questions regarding impactful experiences during the lockdown. The results showed differences in daily routine, co-parenting, emotional experience, and support network according to the parents’ employment statuses. Between-group comparisons showed that at-home parents caring for children with governmental aids generally revealed more positive parenting behavior changes, while at-home parents who were teleworking reported more difficulties in parent-child activities and co-parenting. Furthermore, the content analysis of the data confirmed how important themes such as family dynamics, professional activities, and the relationship with the school community were throughout the participants’ accounts of gains and losses. Overall, parents’ employment statuses are associated with diverse experiences during lockdown. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the importance of family resources and parental resilience, particularly during circumstances jeopardizing the ever-sensitive work-family balance.

Factors Related to Women's Psychological Distress during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence from a Two-Wave Longitudinal Study

BACKGROUND

A growing body of research has highlighted the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on women's mental health. Previous studies showed that women have higher levels of depression, anxiety and PTSD, and worse psychological adjustment than men, which also persisted after the earlier phase of the pandemic. This study aimed to evaluate changes in women's psychological distress during the pandemic and to evaluate the factors that have a more significant impact in predicting women's psychological distress.

METHODS

This two-wave longitudinal study (T1 = Italian first lockdown, and T2 = second phase, when the restrictive measures were eased) involved 893 women (Mage = 36.45, SD = 14.48). Participants provided demographic and health data as well as measures of psychological distress, emotion regulation processes, and ability to tolerate uncertainty.

RESULTS

No significant changes were found in women's psychological distress between T1 and T2, i.e., during and after the first lockdown. Lower social stability status and higher maladaptive emotional coping predicted high psychological distress.

CONCLUSIONS

Results showed that modifiable psychological variables play a central role in predicting distress and indicated that emotion regulation interventions might be helpful in increasing psychological resilience and mitigating the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic within the female population.

Psychological implications of the COVID-19 pandemic around the world: Introduction to the special issue

Although psychological researchers have long studied the implications of major crises, the outbreak and spread of the COVID‐19 pandemic have confronted the global community of psychologists and psychological researchers with new challenges. This special issue contributes to the growing empirical literature on the immediate psychological implications of the COVID‐19 pandemic. We present and discuss diverse work from authors that followed our call for papers in May 2020, shortly after the World Health Organisation declared COVID‐19 a global pandemic. The studies focus on the early phases of the pandemic by addressing (a) implications of the pandemic for psychological well‐being and mental health, (b) psychological effects of lockdown scenarios as well as (c) individual compliance with COVID‐19 prevention and intervention measures. We conclude by highlighting the need for new research efforts, with a special focus on low‐ and middle‐income regions, international research collaborations and cross‐cultural research designs.