He Minxuan, Cabrera Natasha, Renteria Jone, Chen Yu, Alonso Angelica, McDorman S Alexa, Kerlow Marina A, Reich Stephanie M
Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States.
School of Education, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States.
Front Psychol. 2021 Oct 6;12:730447. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.730447. eCollection 2021.
The ongoing COVID-19 crisis has been particularly harmful to economically vulnerable families with young children. We surveyed 247 low-income mothers and fathers from 142 families in the United States about changes in their family life following the economic and social restrictions imposed by the pandemic. We examined the associations between pandemic-related risk factors such as economic stressors (e.g., loss of job) and social stressors (e.g., exposure to the virus) on family functioning (e.g., parents' mental health, parent engagement, and children's socioemotional behaviors) and the degree to which coparenting support and parents' positivity protected families from the negative effects of these stressors on their wellbeing. We found both positive and negative associations. Mothers and fathers who reported more economic stressors since the pandemic also observed that their children behaved more prosocially and that fathers experienced more mental health difficulties during the pandemic. Mothers and fathers who reported more social stressors reported that they were less engaged with their children and their children exhibited more behavior problems compared to before the pandemic. We also found that mothers and fathers who reported feeling more positive also reported feeling less depressed and stressed during the pandemic and observed that their children had more prosocial behaviors compared to before the pandemic. Compared to before the pandemic, mothers and fathers who reported a more supportive coparenting relationship also reported more parent engagement and observed more prosocial behaviors in their children. In terms of protective factors, high levels of parent positivity during the pandemic protected mothers (less mental health difficulties) whereas high levels of coparenting support protected fathers (less mental health difficulties) from the negative effects of economic stress on their mental health during the pandemic. These findings highlight family processes that could promote resilience in mothers and fathers in the face of pandemic-related economic and social stressors.
持续的新冠疫情危机对有幼儿的经济脆弱家庭造成了特别严重的伤害。我们对美国142个家庭的247位低收入母亲和父亲进行了调查，了解疫情带来的经济和社会限制措施对他们家庭生活的影响。我们研究了与疫情相关的风险因素，如经济压力源（如失业）和社会压力源（如接触病毒）与家庭功能（如父母的心理健康、亲子互动以及孩子的社会情感行为）之间的关联，以及共同养育支持和父母的积极态度在多大程度上保护家庭免受这些压力源对其幸福的负面影响。我们发现了积极和消极两方面的关联。报告称自疫情以来经济压力源更多的母亲和父亲还表示，他们的孩子表现出更多亲社会行为，且父亲在疫情期间经历了更多心理健康问题。报告称社会压力源更多的母亲和父亲表示，与疫情前相比，他们与孩子的互动减少，孩子表现出更多行为问题。我们还发现，报告感觉更积极的母亲和父亲在疫情期间也表示感觉抑郁和压力更小，且观察到他们的孩子比疫情前有更多亲社会行为。与疫情前相比，报告共同养育关系更具支持性的母亲和父亲还表示亲子互动更多，且观察到他们的孩子有更多亲社会行为。在保护因素方面，疫情期间高水平的父母积极态度保护母亲（心理健康问题较少），而高水平的共同养育支持保护父亲（心理健康问题较少）免受疫情期间经济压力对其心理健康的负面影响。这些发现凸显了在面对与疫情相关的经济和社会压力源时，能够促进父母恢复力的家庭过程。
