Symptoms of Common Mental Disorders in Brazilian Parents During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Associated Factors

Abstract

COVID-19 pandemic has become a significant international public health problem. In addition to dealing with the pandemic's impact on mental health, parents need to cope with specific changes in their routines caused by social distance measures. This study aimed to investigate common mental disorders (CMD) symptoms in Brazilian parents during the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated factors. A total of 232 Brazilian parents ranging from 20 to 48 years old (M = 33.85; SD = 4.83) with children aged 1-36 months (M = 17.00; SD = 9,87) participated in an online survey. Parents answered a sociodemographic questionnaire, Self-Report Questionnaire (SRQ-20), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-4), and Parenting Sense of Competence Scale. Chi-square tests, correlations, and multiple linear regression were performed. Results showed that parents' symptoms of CMD were negatively associated to perceived parental competence (b =-0.130; p = 0.011) and family income (b =-0.190; p = 0.024). Furthermore, perceived stress was the most related variable to parents' symptoms of CMD (b = 0.618; p \ 0.001), showing a positive association. The model explained 49.5% of the variation. Results suggest that lower family income may increase symptoms of CMD in Brazilian parents, which is a concern in a country of high social inequality. Parental sense of competence may be a relevant protective factor. Interventions targeting parental competence and stress reduction should be considered to address the mental health impacts of the pandemic.

Prospective associations between child screen time and parenting stress and later inattention symptoms in preschoolers during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…In our study, parenting stress during lockdown was also associated with inattention symptoms in preschoolers one year later. Parents reported higher levels of stress during the pandemic ( Spinelli et al, 2020 ; Malhi et al, 2021 ; Riter et al, 2021 ). According to an Italian study, parent distress contributed to higher inattention/hyperactivity in children aged between 3 and 13 ( Marchetti et al, 2020 ).…”

Psychological Distress in Men during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Brazil: The Role of the Sociodemographic Variables, Uncertainty, and Social Support

“…The PS level was influenced by several factors, such as lower socioeconomic status, non-black-skinned people, living alone, receiving low social support, and offering high social support. A study carried out with Brazilian parents also identified that PS was the variable most strongly related to the CMD symptoms, showing that the higher the level of perceived stress, the greater the suspicion of these disorders [ 76 ]. Several factors have been associated with the occurrence of stress during the pandemic, which include concern about physical health and precautionary and disease control measures [ 76 ], anger and confusion arising from quarantine and social distancing [ 75 ], income reduction [ 75 , 76 , 77 ], fear of infection [ 75 ], and being part of a risk group for COVID-19 [ 77 ].…”

Technology as a Double-Edged Sword: Understanding Life Experiences and Coping With COVID-19 in India

“…The American Psychological Association (APA) has stated that spending entire weeks at home (with limited resource supply, reduced stimulation, and curtailed social contacts) can seriously damage people's health and wellbeing, by intensifying the negative emotional states, such as fear, anxiety, depression, frustration, and/or irritability (APA, 2020). This has been demonstrated by a large number of studies examining the impact of COVID-19 (Cellini et al, 2020;Soraci et al, 2020;Riter et al, 2021;Singh and Quraishi, 2021;Zinchenko et al, 2021). Surbhi et al (2021) noted that Indian undergraduate students particularly experienced heightened fear, anxiety, and stress and attempted to address these negative feeling states by practicing gratitude.…”