Parent Mental Health Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2023 Dec 23. doi: 10.1007/s10578-023-01642-6. Online ahead of print.ABSTRACTAlthough extant cross-sectional data suggest that parents have experienced numerous challenges (e.g., homeschooling, caregiver burden) and mental health consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic, longitudinal data are needed to confirm mental health changes relative to pre-pandemic levels and identify which specific pandemic-related changes most highly predict mental health during the pandemic. In two longitudinal subsamples (N = 299 and N = 175), we assessed change in anxiety, depression, and stress before and during the pandemic and whether the accumulation of pandemic-related changes predicted observed mental health changes. On average, parents reported increased depression and anxiety, but no significant changes in reported stress. Moreover, increased interpersonal conflict, difficulty managing work and caregiving responsibilities, and increased economic challenges were the types of pandemic-related changes that most strongly predicted worse mental health, highlighting that juggling caregiving responsibilities and economic concerns, along with the pandemic's impact on interpersonal family relationships are key predictors of worsening parental mental illness symptoms.PMID:38141151 | DOI:10.1007/s10578-023-01642-6

Source: Child Psychiatry and Human Development - December 23, 2023 Category: Child Development Authors: Gabriela L Suarez Montana H Boone S Alexandra Burt Elizabeth A Shewark Colter Mitchell Paula Guzman Nestor L Lopez-Duran Kelly L Klump Christopher S Monk Luke W Hyde Source Type: research