Richter Katharina, Buechel Catherine, Augustin Michaela, Friedmann Anna, Mall Volker, Nehring Ina
Social Pediatrics, TUM School of Medicine & Health, Technical University of Munich, Heiglhofstr. 69, 81377, Munich, Germany.
German Center of Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ), partner site Munich, Heiglhofstr. 69, 81377, Munich, Germany.
Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2025 May 3;19(1):50. doi: 10.1186/s13034-025-00905-5.
During the pandemic, parenting stress and mental health challenges for both parents and children have increased. However, the lasting repercussions for families remain largely unexplored. Additionally, young families currently face stressors such as economic inflation, the Russia-Ukraine War, and the climate crisis, whose impacts on families are not yet understood. The primary aim of the study is therefore to evaluate parenting stress as well as child and parent mental health problems in the postpandemic era. Additionally, the study seeks to identify potential predictors of parenting stress and mental health issues in parents.
From February 2023 to March 2024, we conducted a digital cross-sectional study involving families (N = 17,333) with children aged 0-9 years in Bavaria (Southern Germany) to examine parenting stress and mental health issues among both parents and children in light of current societal challenges. Validated questionnaires were used to gather data, and potential factors contributing to parenting stress were investigated.
We found that 53.7% of parents scored above the cut-off value, indicating that they experienced moderate to high levels of parenting stress. Additionally, 13.5% showed signs of anxiety symptoms, while 14.6% exhibited indications of depression according to cut-off values. Additionally, 34.9% of the infants (0-24 months) had crying and/or sleeping difficulties, whereas emotional and behavioral problems were observed in 8.7 of the toddlers (2-4 years) and 10.4% of the pre- and primary schoolers (˃ 4 years). Economic inflation was perceived as stressful or very stressful for 59.3% of parents, with radicalization and social division (49.3%), the Russia-Ukraine War (37.9%), and the climate crisis (31.8%) also cited as sources of stress. For 31.6% of families, the lingering effects of the pandemic continued to be a (major) burden. Across all age groups, children's mental health issues and societal challenges were the primary predictors of parenting stress.
Our study underscores that psychosocial stressors for families with children remain pronounced even postpandemic. Moreover, our findings highlight the impact of broader societal trends, such as economic inflation and social division, on family well-being. Addressing these stressors and promoting the mental health of infants while bolstering parental resilience by alleviating parenting stress should be key priorities for healthcare initiatives in the aftermath of COVID-19.
在疫情期间，父母和孩子的育儿压力以及心理健康挑战都有所增加。然而，疫情对家庭的长期影响在很大程度上仍未得到充分探索。此外，年轻家庭目前面临经济通胀、俄乌战争和气候危机等压力源，其对家庭的影响尚不清楚。因此，本研究的主要目的是评估疫情后时代的育儿压力以及儿童和父母的心理健康问题。此外，该研究旨在确定育儿压力和父母心理健康问题的潜在预测因素。
从2023年2月至2024年3月，我们在巴伐利亚州（德国南部）开展了一项数字横断面研究，涉及17333个有0至9岁孩子的家庭，以根据当前的社会挑战来研究父母和孩子的育儿压力及心理健康问题。使用经过验证的问卷收集数据，并调查导致育儿压力的潜在因素。
我们发现，53.7%的父母得分高于临界值，表明他们经历了中度到高度的育儿压力。此外，根据临界值，13.5%的父母表现出焦虑症状的迹象，14.6%的父母表现出抑郁迹象。此外，34.9%的婴儿（0至24个月）有哭闹和/或睡眠困难，而在2至4岁的幼儿中有8.7%、4岁以上的学龄前和小学生中有10.4%存在情绪和行为问题。59.3%的父母认为经济通胀有压力或压力很大，激进化和社会分裂（49.3%）、俄乌战争（37.9%）和气候危机（31.8%）也被列为压力来源。对于31.6%的家庭来说，疫情的持续影响仍然是一个（主要）负担。在所有年龄组中，儿童的心理健康问题和社会挑战是育儿压力的主要预测因素。
我们的研究强调，即使在疫情后，有孩子家庭的心理社会压力源仍然很突出。此外，我们的研究结果突出了经济通胀和社会分裂等更广泛社会趋势对家庭幸福的影响。应对这些压力源，促进婴儿的心理健康，同时通过减轻育儿压力来增强父母的适应能力，应该是新冠疫情后医疗保健举措的关键优先事项。
