December 18, 2020

Parents Are Stressed! Patterns of Parent Stress across COVID-19

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Mental Health and Personal Impact

Keywords (Tags): mental health personal impact

• [Pre-print, not peer-reviewed] A study examining parental stress before and during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated an initial spike in stress in May followed by a decrease in September to levels still elevated when compared to pre-pandemic responses. The parental stress score (PSS) pre-COVID-19 was 16.3±5.7 and increased to 22.0±6.4 by May of 2020. By September of 2020, the PSS had fallen to 19.2±6.0, which was still elevated as compared to pre-COVID-19 levels. 71% of parents reported an increase in parenting-specific stress from before COVID-19 to the May timepoint, which continued to increase for 55% of parents in September. Common stressors that impacted parenting during COVID-19 were changes in children’s routines, worry about COVID-19, and online schooling demands. Strategies to manage parenting difficulties included doing family activities together, keeping in touch with family/friends virtually, and keeping children on daily routines.

Adams et al. (Dec 9, 2020). Parents Are Stressed! Patterns of Parent Stress across COVID-19. Research Square. https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-66730/v2