Background Supportive parenting is critical for promoting healthy child development in the face of stressors, such as those occurring during COVID-19. Here, we address a knowledge gap regarding specific household risk factors associated with parenting quality during the pandemic and incorporate first-person accounts of family challenges and needs. Methods Mixed methods were applied to data collected between April 14th - 28th, 2020 from the “Parenting During the Pandemic” survey. Participants included 656 primary caregivers (e.g., mothers, fathers, foster parents) of least one child age 1.5–8 years of which 555 (84.6%) responded to at least one parenting questionnaire. Parenting quality was assessed across stressful, negative, and positive parenting dimensions. Household risk was examined across pandemic- linked (e.g., caregiver depression, unmet childcare needs) and stable factors (i.e., annual income, mental illness history). Significant correlates were examined with regressions in Mplus. Thematic analysis identified caregiver challenges and unmet needs from open-ended questions. Findings Caregiver depression, higher child parity, unmet childcare needs, and relationship distress predicted lower-quality parenting. Caregiver depression was the most significant predictor across every parenting dimension, with analyses indicating medium effect sizes, ds = .39 - .73. Qualitative findings highlighted severe strains on parent capacities including managing psychological distress, limited social supports, and too much unstructured time. Interpretations Lower quality parenting during COVID-19 is associated with multiple household and pandemic risk factors, with caregiver depression consistently linked to parent- child relationship disruptions. Focused efforts are needed to address caregiver mental health to protect child health as part of the pandemic response.

Background Food allergy has a known impact on quality of life (QoL), but this has not been extensively studied during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objective The objective of this mixed methods study was to characterize the levels of anxiety of mothers of food allergic children aged 0-8 years, compared to families without a food allergic child, as well as health-related quality of life (HRQL) amongst food allergic children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods In a mixed methods study of Canadian mothers of children 0-8 years, food allergic cases and non-allergic controls provided demographic data, and completed age-appropriate anxiety questionnaires between 14-28 April 2020. Cases also provided food allergy-related data, and completed the Food Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire (FAQLQ). In-depth interviews were subsequently conducted with purposefully-selected cases. Results Of N=580, 5.5% were cases and 94.5% were controls. For mothers with children 0-1.5 years, anxiety levels did not differ between cases and controls. For mothers with children 1.5-8 years, anxiety levels were higher in cases vs. controls (p<0.05). Amongst cases, neither overall nor domain-specific FAQLQ scores differed between age groups (0-3 vs. 4-7 years), even after adjustment for confounding variables, including childcare during the pandemic. Qualitatively, 3 themes were identified: Unexpected challenges of food shopping; Less food-related food anxiety during the pandemic; and Differences/delays in food allergy testing and therapy. Conclusion Mothers with food allergic children reported high anxiety and poor HRQL. Yet, qualitatively, day-to-day food allergy management was better during the pandemic.

BackgroundFamilies have faced unprecedented challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to increased maternal mental health problems and barriers to accessing care. Innovative programs are needed to support both maternal mental health and parenting, and to buffer the long-term impacts of stress on young children. Using a patient-oriented approach, our research team aimed to co-develop and pilot test an App-based psychoeducation and social-connection platform: Building Emotional Awareness and Mental Health (BEAM).MethodsThe co-development process involved a parent advisory board from conceptualization and design, through to direct participation in the program delivery. The BEAM program includes weekly videos and activities based on Unified Protocol therapy modules and emotion-focused parenting strategies, a weekly telehealth group review session, and access to a private online forum for support from other mothers and clinical coaches. A parallel randomized control trial was conducted across two provinces in Canada. Mothers of preschool children (aged 18–36 months old), with moderate-to-severe depression (Patient Health Questionaire-9 ≥ 10), were recruited online and randomized to either the 10-week BEAM intervention or treatment as usual (TAU) control group. Online surveys (ensuring researcher blinding) included questions about feasibility and acceptability of the program and pre/post self-report measures of mental health, parenting, positive coping and child behavior outcomes. The primary outcome measures were symptoms of depression and parenting stress. Data were analyzed using mixed models and an intention-to-treat approach.Results65 participants were randomized, by an online allocation tool, to the BEAM (n = 33) and TAU (n = 32) groups. Engagement was relatively high at the beginning of the program, with 78.8% starting the BEAM App and 70.6% attending ≥1 telehealth session. Most respondents felt socially supported, satisfied with the App, and found it easy to use. Pre-post results indicated interaction effects with greater reductions in overall mental health problems, and specifically anxiety and sleep symptoms, among BEAM vs. control participants. There were also time effects with reductions in depression symptoms across both groups. No significant treatment effects emerged for the other mental health symptoms, parenting problems, positive coping, or child behavior outcomes. Descriptive data are included to highlight possible areas of promise for future large efficacy trials. Technological difficulties and other challenges that may have led to attrition and impacted outcomes are discussed. There were no adverse events related to study participation.ConclusionsThe BEAM program has promise as a novel, feasible and acceptable intervention for improving mental health among mothers of young children.Clinical Trial Registration[www.ClinicalTrials.gov], identifier [NCT04772677].

Currently, little is known about the relationship between COVID-19-related media consumption and mental health among Canadian parents. Consequently, the current study aimed to investigate the associations between the consumption of COVID-19-related news and mental health in a large sample of Canadian families. We recruited 924 Canadian parents, between April 14th and August 9th 2020, to participate in an online survey, which assessed their demographics, media consumption patterns, and their levels of anxiety, and depression. Relationships between COVID-19-related media consumption and parental mental health were analyzed using a series of multiple regression analyses. Multiple regression was also used to examine whether pediatric health status (i.e., chronic disease vs. no chronic disease), parent health status, and the prevalence of COVID-19 in the participant’s province of residence moderated the relationship between news consumption and parental mental health. Greater consumption of news related to COVID-19 was associated with higher levels of depression, and anxiety after controlling for a number of covariates. Contrary to predictions, neither the prevalence of COVID-19, parent health status, nor child health status significantly moderated the relationship between media consumption and parental mental health.

Background: Supportive parenting is critical for promoting healthy child development in the face of stressors, such as those occurring during COVID-19. Here, we address a knowledge gap regarding specific household risk factors associated with parenting quality during the pandemic and incorporate first-person accounts of family challenges and needs. Methods: Mixed methods were applied to data collected between April 14th-28th, 2020 from the "Parenting During the Pandemic" survey. Participants included 656 primary caregivers (e.g., mothers, fathers, foster parents) of least one child age 1.5-8 years of which 555 (84.6%) responded to at least one parenting questionnaire. Parenting quality was assessed across stressful, negative, and positive parenting dimensions. Household risk was examined across pandemiclinked (e.g., caregiver depression, unmet childcare needs) and stable factors (i.e., annual income, mental illness history). Significant correlates were examined with regressions in Mplus. Thematic analysis identified caregiver challenges and unmet needs from open-ended questions. Findings: Caregiver depression, higher child parity, unmet childcare needs, and relationship distress predicted lower-quality parenting. Caregiver depression was the most significant predictor across every parenting dimension, with analyses indicating medium effect sizes, ds = .39-.73. Qualitative findings highlighted severe strains on parent capacities including managing psychological distress, limited social supports, and too much unstructured time. Interpretations: Lower quality parenting during COVID-19 is associated with multiple household and pandemic risk factors, with caregiver depression consistently linked to parentchild relationship disruptions. Focused efforts are needed to address caregiver mental health to protect child health as part of the pandemic response.