The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic forced the home confinement of the majority of population around the world, including a significant number of children and adolescents, for several weeks in 2020. Negative psychological effects have been identified in adults, but research about the impact of this type of social distancing measure on children and adolescents is scarce. The present study aimed to describe and compare the immediate psychological and behavioral symptoms associated with COVID-19 quarantine in children and adolescents from three southern European countries with different levels of restrictions (Italy, Spain, and Portugal). Parents of 1,480 children and adolescents (52.8% boys) between 3 and 18 years old (M = 9.15, SD = 4.27) participated in the study. An online survey using snowball sampling techniques was conducted during 15 days between March and April 2020, representing the early phase of the quarantine associated with COVID-19 outbreak. Parents answered questionnaires about sociodemographic data, housing conditions, immediate psychological responses during quarantine (e.g., anxiety, mood, sleep, and behavioral alterations), patterns of use of screens, daily physical activity, and sleep hours before and during the quarantine. The results revealed an increase in children's psychological and behavioral symptoms, increased screen-time, reduced physical activity, and more sleep hours/night. Italian children presented less psychological and behavioral symptoms compared with Portuguese and Spanish children. In general, hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that having an outdoor exit in the house (e.g., garden, terrace) contributed to lower levels of psychological and behavioral symptomatology. Future studies are needed to identify family and individual variables that can better predict children and adolescents' well-being during and after quarantine. Recommendations for families and implications for practice are discussed.

We investigated the relationship between spouses' marital satisfaction and partners' parenting practices (emotional support, control attempts, and rejection) and considered the role of coparenting behavior as a mediator of this relationship. Participants were 519 married or living together couples, with 9- to 13-year-old children, living in Lisbon and the east coast of Portugal. Interparental cooperation, interparental conflict, and triangulation of the child were tested as mediators of the associations between marital satisfaction (MS) and parenting practices (PP). Structural equation modeling was used to test two mediation models (maternal parenting and paternal parenting) and to perform multigroup analysis to examine the moderating role of parent and child gender. Results showed that coparenting behavior mediated the association between spousal MS and partners' PP. Child and parent gender moderated the pattern of associations. Relationships were stronger between maternal MS and paternal PP, and many of the associations were significant for parents of boys but not for parents of girls.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the quarantine undergone by children in many countries is a stressful situation about which little is known to date. Children and adolescents' behaviors to cope with home confinement may be associated with their emotional welfare. The objectives of this study were: (1) to examine the coping strategies used out by children and adolescents during the COVID-19 health crisis, (2) to analyze the differences in these behaviors in three countries, and (3) to examine the relationship between different coping modalities and adaptation. Participants were 1,480 parents of children aged 3–18 years from three European countries (nSpain = 431, nItaly = 712, and nPortugal = 355). The children's mean age was 9.15 years (SD = 4.27). Parents completed an online survey providing information on symptoms and coping behaviors observed in their children. The most frequent coping strategies were accepting what is happening (58.9%), collaborating with quarantine social activities (e.g., drawings on the windows, supportive applauses) (35.9%), acting as if nothing is happening (35.5%), highlighting the advantages of being at home (35.1%), and not appearing to be worried about what is happening (30.1%). Compared to Italian and Spanish children, Portuguese children used a sense of humor more frequently when their parents talked about the situation. Acting as if nothing was happening, collaborating with social activities, and seeking comfort from others were more likely in Spanish children than in children from the other countries. Compared to Portuguese and Spanish children, Italian children did not seem worried about what was happening. Overall, an emotional-oriented coping style was directly correlated with a greater presence of anxious symptoms, as well as to mood, sleep, behavioral, and cognitive alterations. Task-oriented and avoidance-oriented styles were related to better psychological adaptation (considered a low presence of psychological symptoms). Results also show that unaffected children or children with a lower level of impact were more likely to use strategies based on a positive focus on the situation. This study provides interesting data on the strategies to be promoted by parents to cope with the COVID-19 health crisis in children.

ResumoOs estilos parentais educativos constituem um conceito central na área de estudos da parentalidade e do desenvolvimento infantil. Neste sentido, décadas de investigação demonstram o impacto dos estilos parentais em vários aspectos do ajustamento socioemocional da criança e do adolescente. Este estudo teve como objetivo avaliar as propriedades psicométricas e a validade fatorial da versão portuguesa de autorrelato do Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire. A amostra foi constituída por 2081 indivíduos portugueses (1085 mães; 996 pais) com fi lhos dos 3 aos 15 anos. Os resultados da análise fatorial confi rmatória replicaram a estrutura original de três fatores: autoritativo, autoritário e permissivo. Os índices de ajustamento revelaram uma boa adequação do modelo aos dados. Os níveis de consistência interna dos fatores autoritativo e autoritário revelaram-se adequados, mas o fator permissivo apresentou valores ligeiramente abaixo dos aceitáveis. Os valores de validade convergente e discriminante também se revelaram adequados. Apesar dos níveis menos aceitáveis de consistência interna do factor permissivo, o QDEP revelou, em geral, qualidades psicométricas adequadas para fi ns de investigação e clínicos, permitindo não só a avaliação de estilos parentais como também de diferentes dimensões e comportamentos parentais com impacto relevante no ajustamento socioemocional da criança e do adolescente. Palavras-chave: Estilos parentais educativos, análise fatorial confirmatória, propriedades psicométricas. AbstractParenting styles have been a central construct in the fi eld of parenting and child development studies. Many decades of research have supported the impact of parenting styles on several aspects of the social and emotional adjustment of children and adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties and the factorial validity of the Portuguese version of the Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire, through confi rmatory factor analysis. Data were collected from 2081 participants (1085 mothers; 996 fathers) with children between 3 and 15 years old. Results replicated the original three-factor structure: authoritative, authoritarian and permissive. The results of confi rmatory analysis indicated a good fi t of the model. Authoritative and authoritarian factors showed good internal reliability coeffi cients, but the permissive factor presented values slightly below acceptable levels. Convergent and discriminant validity also showed appropriate values. In general, and despite the less acceptable levels of internal reliability demonstrated by the permissive factor, PSDQ revealed psychometric properties appropriate for research and clinical purposes. This instrument not only allows for the assessment of parenting styles, but also enables the measurement of parental dimensions and behaviors with a signifi cant impact on child and adolescent well-being. Keywords: Parenting styles, confi rmatory factor analysis, psychometric properties. Endereço para correspondência: Fa...

The COVID-19 epidemic and the quarantine that children in many countries have had to undergo is a stressful situation about which little is known so far. The coping behaviors carried out by children and adolescents to face home confinement can be associated with their emotional welfare. The objectives of this study were: 1) to examine the coping strategies carried out by children and adolescents during the COVID-19 health crisis, 2) to analyze the differences in these behaviors in three countries, and 3) to examine the relationship between different modalities of coping and better adaptation. Participants were 1,480 parents of children aged 3-18 years from three European countries (n Spain = 431, n Italy = 712, and n Portugal = 355). The children’s mean age was 9.15 years (SD = 4.27). Parents completed an online survey providing information on symptoms and coping behaviors observed in their children. The most frequent coping strategies were accepting what is going on (58.9%), collaborating with quarantine social activities (e.g., drawings on the windows, supportive applauses) (35.9%), acting as if nothing is happening (35.5%), highlighting pros of being at home (35.1%), and not seeming worried about what is happening (30.1%). Compared to Italian and Spanish children, Portuguese children used a sense of humor more frequently when parents talked about the situation. Acting as if nothing happened, collaborating with social activities, and seeking comfort from others was more likely in Spanish children than in children from the other countries. Compared to Portuguese and Spanish children, those from Italy seem not worried about what was happening. Overall, an emotional-oriented coping style was directly correlated with a greater presence of anxious symptoms, as well as mood, sleep, behavioral, and cognitive alterations. Task-oriented and avoidance-oriented styles were related to better psychological adaptation, measured as the low presence of psychological symptoms. Results also show that unaffected children or children with a lower level of impact were more likely to use strategies based on a positive focus on the situation. This study provides interesting data on the strategies to be promoted by parents to cope with the COVID-19 health crisis in children.

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Aiming to slow down the spread of the COVID-19, a lockdown was declared in the first term of 2020 in many European countries, applying different restrictions measures. Although the psychological effects of home confinement in children have been described, there is a lack of longitudinal research examining the impact of the confinement over time. The present study analyzes the evolution of the psychological wellbeing of children and adolescents from three European countries with different restrictions. Parents of 624 Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 years old completed the “Impact Scale of COVID-19 and Home Confinement on Children and Adolescents” two, five, and eight weeks after the lockdown. Results show a different pattern for each country. Children from Italy, the first European country that applied a lockdown, were better adapted than Spanish and Portuguese children the first two weeks after confinement but they were more psychologically impacted by home confinement at the eight-week assessment. Portuguese children, who followed a general duty of home confinement, were the best adapted to the situation, with no significant differences over time. A significant change was found in anxiety symptoms in Spanish children, with a decrease at the last assessment. Findings suggest that long confinements and hard restrictions affect children, so prevention measures should be applied during confinements to prevent psychological problems in children.

This study aims to analyze the mediating role of coping strategies in the relationship between family functioning and youth maladjustment. A community sample of 341 adolescents (M = 15.11 years old; SD = 1.71) completed self-report measures about such variables. Results showed that a perception of an inadequate family functioning was associated with the use of maladaptive coping strategies, as well as with youth psychological maladjustment. The results also revealed that rumination and support-seeking mediated the relationship between family functioning and internalizing behavior, and hostile expression of feelings played a mediating role between family functioning and externalizing behavior. No gender differences were found in the relationship between variables. This study emphasizes the importance of coping strategies used by adolescents to understand the relationship between family functioning and youth psychological maladjustment.