Quality (philosophy)

Macroeconomics

2019-20 coronavirus outbreak

Thematic analysis

Philosophy

Depression (economics)

Virology

Child health

Psychiatry

Developmental psychology

Economics

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Outbreak

Environmental health

Qualitative research

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Pediatrics

Psychology

Epistemology

Infectious disease (medical specialty)

Sociology

Mental health

Distress

Medicine

Clinical psychology

Pandemic

Stressor

Disease

Pathology

Social science

PLoS ONE

Supportive parenting is critical for promoting healthy child development in the face of stressors, such as those occurring during COVID-19. Here, we address a knowledge gap regarding specific household risk factors associated with parenting quality during the pandemic and incorporate first-person accounts of family challenges and needs.Mixed methods were applied to data collected between April 14th - 28th, 2020 from the "Parenting During the Pandemic" survey. Participants included 656 primary caregivers (e.g., mothers, fathers, foster parents) of least one child age 1.5-8 years of which 555 (84.6%) responded to at least one parenting questionnaire. Parenting quality was assessed across stressful, negative, and positive parenting dimensions. Household risk was examined across pandemic- linked (e.g., caregiver depression, unmet childcare needs) and stable factors (i.e., annual income, mental illness history). Significant correlates were examined with regressions in Mplus. Thematic analysis identified caregiver challenges and unmet needs from open-ended questions.Caregiver depression, higher child parity, unmet childcare needs, and relationship distress predicted lower-quality parenting. Caregiver depression was the most significant predictor across every parenting dimension, with analyses indicating medium effect sizes, ds = .39 - .73. Qualitative findings highlighted severe strains on parent capacities including managing psychological distress, limited social supports, and too much unstructured time.Lower quality parenting during COVID-19 is associated with multiple household and pandemic risk factors, with caregiver depression consistently linked to parent- child relationship disruptions. Focused efforts are needed to address caregiver mental health to protect child health as part of the pandemic response.

Supporting families to protect child health: Parenting quality and household needs during the COVID-19 pandemic