We examined US parent and youth perceptions of how life events, both positive and negative, associated with COVID-19 resulted in changes in family and youth functioning. Families ( n = 105, 80% white, 48% male, and 87% mothers) completed surveys during the pandemic (May to July 2020) and 3 years prior (for youth ages M = 10.6, SD = 1.17 and M = 13.6, SD = 1.19). Declines in youth, though not parent, report of open family communication, parental support, and family satisfaction were found. Declines were associated with various domains of pandemic-related stress in parent report, though positive life events served as buffers. Pre-pandemic family functioning also predicted pandemic stress. Spillover effects in turn impacted youth functioning. The current findings shed light on how experiences of the pandemic are linked with family functioning and have implications for how to support families during this time.
In this longitudinal study, we examined parent and youth perceptions of how life events, both positive and negative, associated with the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in changes in family functioning as well as youth functioning. We tested both direct effects of parent- and youth-reported negative and positive events as well as indirect or spillover effects that have their effects on parent functioning and marital relationships. Families (n=101 parent-youth dyads, 80% European American, 48% boys, and 87% mothers) completed surveys during the pandemic (May to July 2020) and 1.5 years prior. We conducted multivariate path analyses predicting residualized change in family and youth functioning. According to child-report of family functioning, open family communication, parent-child relationship quality and family satisfaction all decreased during this time, although no changes were found in parent-report of family functioning. Several forms of parent-reported negative life events and child-reports of school-related stress during the pandemic predicted changes in family functioning. Moreover, positive life events predicted child reports of family functioning directly and evidence for spill-over effects of parent-reported positive life events on family functioning were also found. In addition, the receipt of social support by parents during the pandemic protected against decrements in family functioning and, indirectly, increases in child symptomatology. School-related stress also predicted increases in child-reported symptomatology. Moreover, several aspects of family functioning pre-pandemic impacted the extent to which parents and children experienced both positive and negative life events during the pandemic. The current findings thus shed light on how experiences of the pandemic are linked with family functioning and have implications for how to support families during this time.
Scholars posit that gratitude may enhance other-oriented beliefs and behaviors and dampen self-oriented ones through a cycle of upward generativity. We examined associations between gratitude as an indicator of self-orientation (i.e., materialism and entitlement) and other orientation (i.e., connection to nature; attitudes, beliefs, and conversations about social justice; prosocial behavior) in the US youth across six months as moderated by race/ethnicity and gender. Specifically, Study 1 evaluated the psychometric performance of the gratitude moments scale in a more racially and ethnically diverse sample than that included in the original scale development. In study 2, we evaluated pre-registered hypotheses among the youth who completed surveys in October 2020 and again in January 2021 (n = 812). These hypotheses tested (1) whether there were ethnic/racial differences in the measure of children’s gratitude; (2) whether there were reciprocal associations over time between children’s gratitude and indices of self and other orientation; and (3) whether these reciprocal associations varied as a function of youth race/ethnicity and gender. The results of study 1 found that the gratitude moments scale demonstrated high reliability and validity in racially/ethnically diverse young adolescents (n = 89). Using moderated nonlinear factor analysis in study 2, we found only one difference in how the gratitude moments scale performed as a function of race/ethnicity or gender. In cross-lagged panel models, gratitude moments did not predict subsequent self- and other-orientation indices, though youth with lower social justice attitudes and greater prosocial behavior showed increases in later gratitude moments. Prosocial behavior was more strongly and consistently related to self- and other-orientation indices than gratitude. These findings are consistent with models of prosocial behavior as a catalyst for the development of additional forms of other-oriented beliefs, attitudes, and actions that may underlie the development of an other-oriented purpose.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.