University of Michigan, Joint Program in Social Work & Sociology, 1080 South University St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104, United States.
Child Abuse Negl. 2023 Apr;138:106060. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106060. Epub 2023 Feb 4.
To date, several studies have shown that parenting stress, a kind of role strain, is related to child maltreatment. However, few studies have examined how the effects of crises, such as negative pandemic-related events on the household, may be related to parenting stress and maltreatment-related behavior.
This study examines the impact of negative Covid-related events on parenting stress and parenting behaviors during a period that was likely to have been a peak point of stress for many parents during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Respondents were female caregivers (N = 720) of children under the age of six located in the Midwestern United States.
Three or more Covid-related impacts on the household were positively associated with parenting stress (B = 0.177, p < 0.05). Parenting stress fully mediated the weak relationship between these impacts and maltreatment-related behavior. Mothers of different employment statuses, including those who were recently laid off or who chose to stay at home, did not have significantly different probabilities of parenting stress or maltreatment-related behaviors. Contrary to theory, similar null results were found across other socio-demographic variables.
These null findings suggest that crises have effects that encompass family systems, potentially raising parenting stress levels in many groups that are typically considered low-risk for child maltreatment. Results have implications for scholarship on parenting stress, the targeting of social supports to mothers of young children, and rapid interventions to reduce stress, such as the stimulus check relief program.
迄今为止，已有多项研究表明，育儿压力（一种角色压力）与儿童虐待有关。然而，很少有研究探讨家庭中的危机（如与疫情相关的负面事件）如何与育儿压力和与虐待相关的行为相关。
本研究考察了在新冠疫情期间，对许多父母来说可能是压力高峰期的一段时期内，与疫情相关的负面事件对育儿压力和育儿行为的影响。
研究对象为位于美国中西部地区、6 岁以下儿童的女性照顾者（N=720）。
家庭中受到 3 次或以上与疫情相关的影响与育儿压力呈正相关（B=0.177，p<0.05）。育儿压力完全中介了这些影响与虐待相关行为之间的弱关系。不同就业状况的母亲，包括最近被解雇或选择留在家中的母亲，在育儿压力或与虐待相关的行为方面的概率没有显著差异。与理论相反，在其他社会人口统计学变量中也发现了类似的零结果。
这些零结果表明，危机的影响涵盖了家庭系统，可能会使许多通常被认为是儿童虐待低风险的群体的育儿压力水平上升。研究结果对育儿压力、向幼儿母亲提供社会支持的目标以及减少压力的快速干预（如刺激支票救济计划）的相关研究具有启示意义。
