Material hardship and parenting stress among grandparent kinship providers during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of grandparents’ mental health

Abstract

Background The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the vulnerability of many families, including grandparent kinship families, to deal with a health/economic crisis. The fear of COVID-19 plus stay-at-home orders have increased individuals’ psychological distress. Moreover, school closures and homeschooling further increased parenting stress among caregivers. Objectives This study examined the relationship between material hardship and parenting stress among grandparent kinship providers, and assessed grandparents’ mental health as a potential mediator to this relationship during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States. Participants and setting Grandparent kinship providers (N = 362) that took primary care of their grandchildren participated in a cross-sectional survey via Qualtrics Panels in June 2020 in the United States. Methods Descriptive and bivariate analyses, binary logistic regression, and mediation analyses were conducted using STATA 15.0. Results Suffering material hardship was significantly associated with higher odds of experiencing parenting stress among grandparent kinship providers, and grandparents’ mental health partially mediated this association. Conclusions Addressing material and mental health needs among grandparent kinship providers is critical to decreasing their parenting stress.

Understanding the Relationships between Parenting Stress and Mental Health with Grandparent Kinship Caregivers’ Risky Parenting Behaviors in the Time of COVID-19

“…Since the onset of COVID-19, grandparent kinship caregivers may have experienced job loss, have had to balance work responsibilities and childcare duties, and spend more time staying in the same household with their grandchildren. All these challenges contribute to parenting stress and mental distress (Xu et al 2020). Our findings also indicate that grandparent kinship caregivers' parenting stress and mental distress are associated with elevated psychological aggression, corporal punishment, and neglect towards their grandchildren, which is in line with previous findings among biological parents (Casady and Lee 2002;Holden and Banez 1996;Lee 2013;Liu and Wang 2015;Slack et al 2011).…”

“…In the United States, approximately 2.5 million grandparents, known as grandparent kinship caregivers, are fully responsible for their grandchildren (United States Census Bureau, 2012. Grandparent-headed kinship families are often characterized by low economic status, poor physical and mental health, inadequate housing, and high levels of parenting stress and psychological distress (Lee et al 2016;Xu et al 2020).…”

“…It is documented that grandparent kinship caregivers experience a high level of parenting stress due to parenting demands and other unique challenges in raising grandchildren during their late adulthood (Kelley et al 2000;Lee et al 2016). Prior research has indicated that material hardship, financial stress, physical and mental health problems, lack of social support, and conflicts with biological parents contribute to parenting stress among kinship caregivers (Kelley et al 2000;Lee et al 2016;Xu et al 2020;Waldrop and Weber 2001). Moreover, children's characteristics, such as younger age, physical illness, behavioral problems, and disabilities, have also been associated with kinship caregivers' increased parenting stress (Kelley et al 2011).…”

“…Slack et al (2011) also identified parental depression as associated with increased risk for child neglect during early childhood. In the face of COVID-19, grandparent kinship caregivers face elevated mental distress in addition to economic instability and parenting stress (Xu et al 2020), which may increase the potential to use risky parenting behaviors during this stressful time. Thus, it is critical to examine how grandparent kinship caregivers' mental health is associated with risky parenting behaviors to ensure child safety during COVID-19.…”

“…Previous studies conducted during the economic recession and other disasters, such as Hurricanes, suggest child maltreatment risk may be triggered by contextual stressors, particularly among vulnerable and low-income families (Brooks-Gunn et al 2013;Self-Brown et al 2013). Grandparent-headed kinship families are unevenly affected by COVID-19 due to their pre-existing vulnerabilities in socioeconomic status and health conditions (Xu et al 2020), which may increase risk factors associated with child maltreatment risk. Therefore, the current study aims to examine relationships between parenting stress, mental health, and risky parenting behaviors (i.e., psychological aggression, corporal punishment, and neglectful behaviors) among grandparent kinship caregivers during COVID-19.…”