Contexte - Conscient·e·s des difficultés engendrées par la pandémie de COVID-19 pour de nombreuses familles ayant des enfants de 6 ans ou moins, l’étude se focalise sur trois contextes de vulnérabilités familiales : familles monoparentales, avec enfants ayant des difficultés développementales et celles en situation de pauvreté. Méthode - Un questionnaire, composé de 69 questions, a été transmis, au niveau national durant le premier confinement (du 17 mars au 10 mai 2020). Parmi l’échantillon d’étude (n = 490), 36 foyers sont monoparentaux et 93 familles ont un enfant présentant des difficultés développementales. De novembre 2020 à juin 2021, une approche qualitative complémentaire a été menée pour atteindre les publics les plus pauvres (n = 23). Résultats – La méthodologie mixte adoptée permet de relever des modalités du vécu qui rassemblent les familles dans les trois contextes (relations intrafamiliales davantage renforcées et investissement des mesures de protection, par exemple), et d’autres qui apparaissent plus spécifiques : pression ressentie et besoin d’informations pour les foyers monoparentaux et avec enfants à difficultés développementales, charge liée à l’école à la maison pour les foyers monoparentaux et les plus pauvres, isolement social pour les foyers monoparentaux, difficultés à maintenir le budget alimentaire antérieur pour les plus pauvres. Conclusion – Les diverses pressions ressenties, les conditions de logement (avec ou sans espaces extérieurs) et de travail, la crainte d’être malades, les sentiments négatifs, etc. doivent inciter les pouvoirs publics à mettre en œuvre des dispositifs de soutien psychologique, notamment pour les foyers les plus vulnérables afin que n’adviennent pas des problèmes de santé physique et/ou psychique ultérieurs voire des symptômes post-traumatiques des parents et de leurs enfants.
BackgroundFamilies with young children have faced serious challenges during the first lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to remote working, parents have had to monitor their children’s schoolwork and manage their daily lives. When one of the children also has neuro-developmental disorders, this results in an increased burden. We can therefore wonder how these families with one or more young children (under 6 years old) with special needs have experienced and dealt with this lockdown.Aim of the StudyIn this context, the “COVJEUNENFANT” study focused more specifically on the subjective experience, as a parent, of those who cared for children with special needs (i.e., with developmental disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, proven disabilities or chronic health conditions) compared to the general population. We wished to see if the consequences of the health crisis were significantly different from those perceived by respondents in the general population (n = 490) and if the sociodemographic structure of these families differed from those of other respondents.MethodsNinety three French families with at least one child under 6 years old and one with developmental difficulties or a chronic illness, from a cohort of 490 control families, participated in a web-based survey during the first lockdown, from the 28th April 2020 to 29th May 2020.ResultsAfter presenting the participants’ sociodemographic characteristics, the results show that these French families (n = 93) are less wealthy than the control population “without special needs” (n = 397), have felt more pressures originating from their environment (families, friends, colleagues, media, social networks…), have suffered from more health issues (other than COVID-19), have taken more measures to protect themselves (social-distancing), and were less likely to feel happy. A significantly larger number of them lamented the lack of free time and voiced a larger need for information regarding children’s education. However, their parental role was felt as being more satisfying and their family relations strengthened more than in the general population of participants.ConclusionIt is apparent that urgent prioritisation is needed in order to support and care for these families by continuing to provide care for their children in one way or another, and by ensuring that their need to adapt again does not exceed their own abilities and resources, especially as young children, who have high levels of requirements, are present in the home.
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