COVID-19 and Children’s Mental Health: The Impact of Sociodemographic Variables, Educational Practices and StressorsAbstract:
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant effect on families in different countries. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of sociodemographic variables, parental educational practices, and stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic on the emotional and behavioral problems of children aged 6 to 11 years. Mothers/fathers (N = 132) answered the Sociodemographic Data Questionnaire, the Inventory of Parenting Practices, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and the Response to Stress Questionnaire COVID-19. Regression analysis indicated that parental clinical diagnosis and being a boy had an effect on externalizing problems, as well as did parental age on hyperactivity. Marital status influenced children’s conduct difficulties, and educational level influenced emotional and internalizing difficulties. Coercive discipline was associated with all subscales of the emotional/behavioral problems. Finally, the stressors of the pandemic had an impact on conduct, emotional, peer-relationship externalizing and internalizing problems. It was shown that different factors accentuated children’s vulnerabilities in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Keywords:
parenting; parent-child relations; behavior disorders; COVID-19