Scaini Simona, Caputi Marcella, Giani Ludovica
Department of Psychology, Sigmund Freud University, Ripa di Porta Ticinese 77, 20143 Milan, Italy.
Child and Adolescent Unit, Italian Psychotherapy Clinics, Corso San Gottardo 5, 20136 Milan, Italy.
Children (Basel). 2023 Sep 29;10(10):1625. doi: 10.3390/children10101625.
The COVID-19 emergency has fostered an increasing risk of experiencing distress and negative emotions in parents that turned into heightened stress for children. In this study, we aim to evaluate the effects of parental stress, children's resilience, and previous adversities on the development of internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children. A series of questionnaires were completed by 158 Italian parents (148 mothers, 10 fathers, mean age = 41 years) concerning them and their school-aged children (N = 158, 76 boys, mean age = 7.4 years) at two critical time points (June 2020 and December 2020). Regression analyses showed that internalizing problems were predicted only by concurrent children's resilience, whereas externalizing problems were predicted by concurrent parental flooding, children's resilience, and early parental satisfaction. Therefore, internalizing and externalizing symptoms trajectories follow different routes and are predicted by both common and distinct factors. Supporting positive parenting attitudes and behavior should be recommended to prevent the worsening of children's externalizing behaviors. At the same time, nurturing resilience in pediatric systems might be useful in preventing or reducing children's internalizing symptoms.
新冠疫情紧急情况增加了父母出现困扰和负面情绪的风险，进而给孩子带来更大压力。在本研究中，我们旨在评估父母压力、孩子的复原力以及既往逆境对孩子内化症状和外化症状发展的影响。158名意大利父母（148名母亲，10名父亲，平均年龄 = 41岁）在两个关键时间点（2020年6月和2020年12月）完成了一系列关于他们自己及其学龄子女（N = 158，76名男孩，平均年龄 = 7.4岁）的问卷。回归分析表明，内化问题仅由孩子同时期的复原力预测，而外化问题则由父母同时期的情绪失控、孩子的复原力以及早期父母满意度预测。因此，内化症状和外化症状轨迹遵循不同路径，并由共同和不同的因素预测。应建议支持积极的养育态度和行为，以防止孩子外化行为恶化。同时，在儿科系统中培养复原力可能有助于预防或减少孩子的内化症状。
