Peer-reviewed article
Trajectories of parent and child well‐being across the pandemic year: Role of financial strain, social distancing, and COVID ‐19 prevalence
Yunying Le, Jacqueline A. Mogle, Mark Ethan Feinberg ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study tracked 393 parents from 235 US families over 8 months during the COVID-19 pandemic (April 2020 to January 2021) to understand how their well-being and their children's well-being changed over time. The researchers found that pandemic-related stress, financial strain, and social distancing were linked to poorer mental health in parents and more behaviour problems in children. Families living in areas with higher COVID-19 cases experienced stronger negative effects from pandemic stress. Overall, well-being either stayed stable or showed small recovery followed by further decline across the study period.
Key points
- Parents experiencing greater pandemic-related stressors reported poorer functioning across all measured domains of well-being
- Monthly fluctuations in pandemic stressors were associated with fluctuations in parent mental health and child behaviour problems
- Links between pandemic stressors and well-being were stronger among families in areas with higher COVID-19 prevalence rates
- Well-being showed either little change or small recovery followed by further deterioration across the 8-month period
- Prior intervention participation and parent gender did not systematically affect parents' experiences during the pandemic
Limitations
The study is observational and cannot establish causal effects of pandemic stressors on well-being. The sample consisted only of families already engaged in research participation, which may not represent all US families during the pandemic.
Abstract
Existing research demonstrated large deteriorations in parent, child, and family well-being within 2 months after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, little is known about the trajectories of families' adjustment in the following months, including what risk factors are associated with changes in families' adjustment. The current study examined (1) change in the parent, child, and family well-being over time; (2) associations of pandemic-related stressors, financial and social distancing-associated stress, with well-being between and within families; and (3) the role of local COVID-19 prevalence, prior participation in family-focused prevention, and parent gender. From April 2020 to January 2021, 393 parents from 235 families reported five times on parent mental health, child behavior problems, family relationships, and pandemic-related stressors. Findings indicate that, across all domains of well-being, there was either little change across the 8 months or a small degree of recovery followed by a shift to further deterioration. On average, parents experiencing greater pandemic-related stressors also reported poorer functioning in all domains; monthly fluctuations in pandemic-related stressors were also associated with fluctuations in parent mental health and child behavior problems. In some domains, the links between pandemic-related stressors and parent and child well-being were stronger among families living in areas with overall higher COVID-19 prevalence rates. Parents' experiences during the pandemic did not differ systematically across prior intervention participation or parent gender. Taken together, findings suggest a need for supportive interventions to help families navigate extended periods of crisis.