Understanding family life during the COVID‐19 shutdown

Abstract

Our study investigates how changes in family contexts were associated with child behaviors during Ohio's COVID-19 shutdown of early 2020. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic caused major economic and social changes for families. Rapid research was conducted to assess these changes and their potential impacts on child behaviors. Method: Using a diverse sample of families with children aged birth to 9 years (N = 559), we describe key economic changes and parent-reported stressors experienced during Ohio's shutdown period. Then, we use regression models to examine how these family conditions were associated with child emotional distress and changes in sleep routines. Results: When parents experienced more total COVID-19 pandemic-related stressors, they also reported that their children exhibited more anxious and withdrawn, fearful, acting out, and COVID-19 pandemic-related behaviors (p < 0.01). Conclusion: Families and children living at home in Ohio experienced significant stress during the shutdown. These findings can be used to inform future studies of the social and economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for parents and children. Implications: Families and children have experienced multiple stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Researchers and practitioners should continue to monitor and support families and children to mitigate potential lasting consequences.

Stressor pileup, family and couple relational well‐being, and parent stress during the COVID‐19 pandemic

“…Illustratively, in one study parents reported experiencing, on average, more than eight of a potential 25 COVID‐19 pandemic‐related stressors. Three quarters of parents experienced five or more stressors (mean = 8.2 ± 4.3) and one quarter experienced 11 or more stressors (Singletary et al, 2022). Stressors that “piled‐up” for parents during the first year of the COVID‐19 pandemic were disease‐related (e.g., fears related to infection and potential consequences of the virus), economic (e.g., loss of income due to job changes), lockdown related (e.g., loss of child care, difficulties accessing medical and support services for family members with special needs), and grief related (e.g., loss of loved ones; Kira et al, 2021; Lotzin et al, 2022; Ye et al, 2020).…”

The Rise of Functional Tic-Like Behaviors: What Do the COVID-19 Pandemic and Social Media Have to Do With It? A Narrative Review

“…Parental stress, mental health, and wellbeing are also impacted during the pandemic, which is associated with poorer child wellbeing (125)(126)(127)(128). Disruptions from the pandemic altered diets, sleep schedules, and social relationships.…”

Infant regulation during the pandemic: Associations with maternal response to the COVID‐19 pandemic, well‐being, and socio‐emotional investment

“…This disruption in parenting behavior further affects child adjustment. The Family Stress Model served as the theoretical bases for several studies investigating the impact of the COVID‐19 pandemic on family functioning and child development (e.g., Oppermann et al., 2021 ; Singletary et al., 2022 ; Wade et al., 2021 ). In this context, a recent reformulation of the model (Prime et al., 2020 ) states an additional bi‐directional relationship between reduced parental well‐being and child adjustment problems.…”