Uy Jessica P, Schwartz Chloe, Chu Kristen A, Towner Emily, Lemus Alejandra, Brito Natalie H, Callaghan Bridget L
Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Dev Psychobiol. 2022 Mar;64(3):e22253. doi: 10.1002/dev.22253.
The current study investigated the impacts of parental behaviors (threat communication and comforting) on children's COVID-19 fears and whether effects differed by age. Caregivers of 283 children (5.5-17 years, M = 10.17, SD = 3.25) from 186 families completed online measures assessing children's and parents' COVID-19-related fears, children's sources of COVID-19 threat information, and parents' engagement in behaviors to reduce child distress (i.e., comfort behaviors). Higher COVID-19 fear in parents was associated with greater communication of COVID-19 threat information, which was associated with higher COVID-19 fear in younger, but not older, children. Over and above parental fear and threat communication, greater exposure to COVID-19 threat information from community sources (e.g., media, school, friends) was associated with greater COVID-19 fear in children, regardless of age. Greater engagement of parental comfort behaviors buffered the association between community sources of COVID-19 threat information and COVID-19 fears in older, but not younger, children. These findings suggest that younger children might be more vulnerable to developing heightened COVID-19 fears as a result of increasing sources of COVID-19 threat information in their lives. This study highlights the importance of supporting the socioemotional well-being of children and families through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
本研究调查了父母行为（威胁告知和安慰）对儿童新冠恐惧的影响，以及这些影响是否因年龄而异。来自186个家庭的283名儿童（5.5 - 17岁，M = 10.17，SD = 3.25）的照顾者完成了在线测评，内容包括儿童和父母与新冠相关的恐惧、儿童获取新冠威胁信息的来源，以及父母为减轻孩子痛苦所采取的行为（即安慰行为）。父母更高的新冠恐惧与更多地传达新冠威胁信息相关，而这又与年幼儿童（而非年长儿童）更高的新冠恐惧相关。除了父母的恐惧和威胁告知之外，儿童从社区来源（如媒体、学校、朋友）更多地接触新冠威胁信息与更高的新冠恐惧相关，无论年龄大小。父母安慰行为的更多参与缓冲了社区来源的新冠威胁信息与年长儿童（而非年幼儿童）的新冠恐惧之间的关联。这些发现表明，年幼儿童可能更容易因生活中新冠威胁信息来源的增加而产生更高的新冠恐惧。本研究强调了在新冠疫情期间及之后支持儿童和家庭社会情感福祉的重要性。
