Assessing positive adaptation during a global crisis: The development and validation of the family positive adaptation during COVID-19 scale

Positive parenting practices support children at neurological risk during COVID-19: a call for accessible parenting interventions

Children and youth with neurological and/or neurodevelopmental conditions were at high risk for behavioral and mental health challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Positive and responsive parenting practices may be one way to prevent and manage potential difficulties in families. We aimed to identify whether positive parenting practices were associated with reduced behavioral concerns in children at neurological risk during the late stages and aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, we examined whether ongoing parental stress, anxiety, and depression impacted parenting practices during this time period. Families (N = 179) with children 4 to 15 years old (M = 7.11y, SD = 2.02) diagnosed with neurological (84.3%), neurodevelopmental (54.8%) or comorbid neurological and/or neurodevelopmental conditions (21.2%) were contacted to complete online questionnaires regarding demographics, parent stress, child behavior, COVID-19 conditions, and parenting practices. Multivariable linear regression (MLR) analyses examined the association between positive parenting practices and parenting competency measures with child behavioral outcomes, controlling for relevant covariates, including COVID-19 related stress. MLR were also run to determine whether parental mental health impacted parenting practices. More positive parenting practices predicted fewer child problem behaviors and lower intensity of problem behaviors. Similarly, a higher sense of satisfaction with parenting competence also predicted fewer child problem behaviors and lower intensity of problem behaviors. In addition, higher reported parental depression, anxiety, and stress significantly predicted fewer reported positive parenting practices. Findings points to the promising application of positive parenting interventions to support vulnerable families, as well as the need for parental mental health intervention to support parenting practices.

Parenting and pandemic pressures: Examining nuances in parent, child, and family well-being concerns during COVID-19 in a Canadian sample

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused vast disruptions in family life for Canadian parents since early 2020. While numerous environmental stressors have been identified, including job loss and the demands of balancing work-life conflicts and at-home schooling, relatively less is known about the areas of family life parents are most concerned about and how these worries relate to well-being across the family system.

Methods

Canadian parents (n = 29,831, 90.29% mothers, 57.40% Ontario residents) of children aged 0-14 were surveyed about their concerns related to child, parent, and family well-being in June 2020. Structural equation modelling was used to model the relationship between concerns about children, parenting, and the whole family, in association with several sociodemographic variables including child disability status, parent sex and education, job loss during COVID-19, and caregiver employment.

Results

Parenting, child, and family concerns were positively correlated. Higher child and family concerns were reported by parents who had not attended university, those who had experienced employment loss or reduced hours, and families with all adults working outside the home. Parents of children with a disability reported higher concerns across all three domains: child, parenting, and family psychosocial well-being.

Discussion

These results showcase distinct associations between social determinants of health and the types of worries caregivers exhibited across multiple areas of family life during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Findings are interpreted in relation to clinical intervention and public policy targets for families.

Pandemic-Related Disruption and Positive Adaptation: Profiles of Family Function at the Onset of the Pandemic

The onset of the pandemic brought heightened stress to parents due to disruptions to family life, in addition to processes of positive family adaptation, including greater closeness, more time spent together, and shared problem-solving. Delineating how early pandemic-related family stress and positive adaptation simultaneously operate is important for understanding risk and resilience. We use a person-oriented approach to identify subgroups of caregivers based on patterns of stress and positive adaptation in the first months of the pandemic. Data come from a multi-national study of 549 caregivers (68% female) of 1098 children (younger child: M = 9.62, SD = 3.21; older child: M = 11.80, SD = 3.32). In May 2020, caregivers reported on stress (income, family, and pandemic-specific) and positive adaptation using previously validated scales, and covariates indexing family vulnerabilities (i.e., caregiver adverse childhood experiences, caregiver and child mental health) and psychosocial resources (caregiver social support, positive coping, religiosity/spirituality, and benevolent childhood experiences, and pre-pandemic socioeconomic resources). A latent profile analysis was conducted using the four indicators. Profiles were examined in relation to covariates using BCH procedures. A 4-profile solution was selected, characterized by Low Disruption (n = 296), Multi-Domain Disruption (n = 36), Income Disruption (n = 111), and Family Disruption (n = 106) groups. Positive adaptation minimally differentiated profiles. Participants in the Low Disruption group reported more resources and fewer vulnerabilities than other groups. Those in the Multi-Domain Disruption group reported the fewest resources and the most vulnerabilities. Early in the pandemic, a minority group of individuals in this sample carried a disproportionate burden of pandemic-related stress. Potential consequences to family functioning and implications for systemic family prevention and intervention efforts are discussed.