Peer-reviewed article
Financial stress during COVID-19: implications for parenting behaviour and child well-being
Megan G. McGill, Eva Purkey, Colleen Davison, Autumn Watson, Imaan Bayoumi ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-sonnet-5-5This study looked at 528 parent and child pairs in Ontario, Canada, between April and November 2020. It asked whether parents' financial worry during COVID-19 was linked to children's social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. Higher financial worry was associated with higher child difficulty scores. Parenting behaviour, including overreactive and lax approaches, appeared to explain part of this link. The authors conclude that policies that ease family financial stress may support child well-being.
Key points
- Sample of 528 parent-child pairs in Ontario, Canada, mostly female parents (93%) and of largely European ancestry (78%).
- Greater financial worry was significantly associated with higher child SDQ total difficulties scores (β=0.23, SE=0.10, p=0.03).
- Parenting behaviour measured by the PS-8 mediated the relationship (average causal mediation effect β=0.50, p=0.02).
- The average direct effect was not statistically significant (β=0.19, p=0.08).
- The authors support policies that reduce family financial stress.
Limitations
The study is cross-sectional, so it cannot show that financial stress causes child difficulties or establish the order of events. The sample was mostly female parents of European ancestry in one Canadian province, so findings may not apply to other groups or countries. The document does not describe how child difficulties were reported beyond the measures named.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Family financial stress and parenting behaviours are each associated with child behaviours. We sought to explore the association between parent financial stress and child socioemotional and behavioural difficulties during the COVID-19 pandemic and examine parenting behaviour, including overreactive and lax parenting approaches, as a potential mediator to this relationship. METHODS: Cross-sectional sample of parent and child data pairings in Ontario, Canada between April and November of 2020. Linear models were used to describe the relationships between financial worry, child Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) total difficulties and parenting behaviours measured by the Parenting Scale 8-item (PS-8), which includes measures of both overreactive and lax parenting tendencies. Formal mediation testing was performed to assess the potential mediating role of parenting behaviour. RESULTS: 528 parent and child pairs were enrolled from largely European ancestry (78%), female (93%) and varied household income levels. Analysis revealed increased financial worry during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly associated with increased child SDQ total difficulties scores (β=0.23, SE=0.10, p=0.03). This relationship was mediated by reported parenting behaviour, independent of parent education, household income, parent age, parent sex, parent anxiety and child sex (total effect: β=0.69, p=0.02, average causal mediation effects: β=0.50, p=0.02, average direct effects: β=0.19, p=0.08). CONCLUSION: Financial stress during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with poorer child social and emotional well-being. Parenting behaviours measured by the PS-8 significantly mediated these effects. This work supports the importance of policies aimed to alleviate family financial stresses and highlights the potential impact such policies have on child well-being.