Dealing with a COVID-19 lockdown may have negative effects on children, but at the same time might facilitate parent–child bonding. Perceived stress may influence the direction of these effects. Using a longitudinal twin design, we investigated how perceived stress influenced lockdown induced changes in wellbeing of parents and children. A total of 106 parents and 151 children (10–13-year-olds) filled in questionnaires during lockdown and data were combined with data of previous years. We report a significant increase in parental negative feelings (anxiety, depression, hostility and interpersonal sensitivity). Longitudinal child measures showed a gradual decrease in internalizing and externalizing behavior, which seemed decelerated by the COVID-19 lockdown. Changes in parental negative feelings and children’s externalizing behavior were mediated by perceived stress: higher scores prior to the lockdown were related to more stress during the lockdown, which in turn was associated with an increase in parental negative feelings and children’s’ externalizing behavior. Perceived stress in parents and children was associated with negative coping strategies. Additionally, children’s stress levels were influenced by prior and current parental overreactivity. These results suggest that children in families with negative coping strategies and (a history of) parental overreactivity might be at risk for negative consequences of the lockdown.
Whereas children are physically less affected by the COVID-19 disease, dealing with lockdown may have negative effects on their wellbeing. At the same time, the lockdown might also have positive effects for families, as it might facilitate parent-child bonding. One important factor that may influence the direction of these effects is perceived stress in children and parents. Using a longitudinal twin design, we investigated how perceived stress influenced COVID-19 lockdown induced changes in wellbeing of parents (psychological symptoms and overreactivity) and children (internalizing and externalizing behavior). A total of 106 parents and 151 children (10-13-year-old, 47% girls, majority middle-high SES and Caucasian) enrolled in the longitudinal L-CID study filled in questionnaires during lockdown and data were combined with data of previous years. We report a significant increase in parental psychological symptoms and a decrease in parental overreactivity across time. Longitudinal child measures showed a decrease in internalizing and externalizing behavior, which seemed decelerated by the COVID-19 lockdown. Perceived stress was a significant mediator of changes in parental psychological symptoms: Parents who reported more psychological symptoms prior to the lockdown experienced more stress during the lockdown, which in turn was associated with an increase in psychological symptoms. Similar results were found for children’s externalizing behavior. Results further showed that perceived stress in children was associated with negative coping strategies, parental overreactivity and parental psychological symptoms. These results suggest that children in families with (a history of) parental psychological symptoms and overreactivity might be at risk for negative consequences of the COVID-19 lockdown.
The transition period between early childhood and late adolescence is characterized by pronounced changes in social competence, or the capacity for flexible social adaptation. Here, we propose that two processes, self-control and prosociality, are crucial for social adaptation following social evaluation. We present a neurobehavioral model showing commonalities in neural responses to experiences of social acceptance and rejection, and multiple pathways for responding to social context. The Leiden Consortium on Individual Development (L-CID) provides a comprehensive approach towards understanding the longitudinal developmental pathways of, and social enrichment effects on, social competence, taking into account potential differential effects of such enrichment. Using Neurosynth based brain maps we point towards the medial prefrontal cortex as an important region integrating social cognition, self-referential processing and self-control for learning to respond flexibly to changing social contexts. Based on their role in social evaluation processing, we suggest to examine medial prefrontal cortex connections with lateral prefrontal cortex and the ventral striatum as potential neural differential susceptibility markers, in addition to previously established markers of differential susceptibility.
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.