Abstract

Empirical data on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on families with school-aged children is limited. We used a cross-sectional, descriptive design to examine pandemic-related family impacts and whether impacts varied based on demographics. We also examined whether parenting behaviors in response to the virus and parent–child interactions were related to pandemic impacts and children’s psychological adjustment. We surveyed 595 United States parents (69.2% non-Latinx White, 12.1% Black/African American) using Amazon Mechanical Turk in May 2020. Results revealed that families experienced negative and positive impacts related to the pandemic. Independent samples t-tests and one-way ANOVAs indicated that parents of color, parents with lower income, and parents of elementary school children reported more negative impacts. Correlational analyses revealed parents who encouraged hygienic behaviors and promoted social connection reported their children engaged in more virus safety behaviors and experienced less impairment. Parents who limited access to COVID-19 information reported their children demonstrated more fear, impairment, and safety behaviors. Positive parenting was inversely related to negative pandemic impacts, whereas inconsistent discipline was positively related to negative pandemic impacts and to children’s fear and impairment related to COVID-19. Recommendations for how practitioners and school personnel can support parents during the pandemic are provided.

Impact Statement

This study contributes to our growing understanding of demographic trends in parents’ COVID-19 responses and also identifies parenting behaviors associated with children’s adjustment to the pandemic. Our findings highlight the need for interventions to teach parents how to talk to their children about the virus and help their child cope with the pandemic. Interventions should also focus on helping parents learn and utilize positive and consistent parenting strategies. Schools should consider developing focused supports for families of color, of lower income, and with elementary school-aged children to help reduce burden associated with adverse impacts of the pandemic, such as children’s transition to online learning from home

摘要

关于 COVID-19 大流行对有学龄儿童家庭影响的经验数据有限。我们使用横截面的描述性设计来检查与流行病相关的家庭影响以及影响是否因人口统计而异。我们还研究了应对病毒和亲子互动的育儿行为是否与流行病影响和儿童的心理适应有关。我们于 2020 年 5 月使用 Amazon Mechanical Turk 对 595 名美国父母（69.2% 非拉丁裔白人，12.1% 黑人/非裔美国人）进行了调查。结果显示，家庭经历了与大流行相关的负面和正面影响。独立样本t- 测试和单因素方差分析表明，有色人种父母、收入较低的父母和小学生的父母报告了更多的负面影响。相关性分析显示，鼓励卫生行为和促进社会联系的父母报告说，他们的孩子从事更多的病毒安全行为，受到的损害更少。限制获取 COVID-19 信息的父母报告说，他们的孩子表现出更多的恐惧、障碍和安全行为。积极的养育方式与消极的流行病影响呈负相关，而不一致的管教与消极的流行病影响以及儿童对 COVID-19 的恐惧和损害呈正相关。提供了有关从业人员和学校工作人员在大流行期间如何支持父母的建议。

影响陈述

这项研究有助于我们加深对父母 COVID-19 反应中的人口统计趋势的了解，并确定与儿童适应大流行病相关的育儿行为。我们的研究结果强调了干预措施的必要性，以教父母如何与孩子谈论病毒并帮助他们的孩子应对大流行。干预措施还应侧重于帮助父母学习和利用积极和一致的育儿策略。学校应考虑为有色人种、收入较低的家庭和小学适龄儿童提供重点支持，以帮助减轻与大流行的不利影响相关的负担，例如儿童在家中向在线学习的过渡