Yashuang Bai1, Mingqi Fu2, Xiaohua Wang3, Danxia Liu4, Yanjun Zhang4, Chengbin Liu4, Bo Zhang5, Jing Guo1. 1. Department of Health Policy and Management, School of Public Health, Peking University, 100191 Beijing, China. 2. Center for Social Security Studies, Wuhan University, 430070 Wuhan, China. 3. School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, 100875 Beijing, China. 4. School of Sociology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 430074 Wuhan, China. 5. Department of Neurology and ICCTR Biostatistics and Research Design Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, 02115 Boston, MA USA.
Abstract
Children are more likely to experience maltreatment and parental conflict in a pandemic context, which can exacerbate their vulnerability to psychological disorders. The purpose of the present study was to examine mental health symptoms in children aged 0 to 10 years and consider related factors from the perspectives of maltreatment and parental conflict during the COVID-19 lockdown. Participants were 1286 parents aged 18 years and over with children aged 0 to 10 years were included. Several multivariable linear regressions were used to analyze the data. The largest variance in child mental health was explained by child maltreatment, as more maltreatment predicted higher reported psychological problems (standardized beta = 0.49, P < 0.001). Comparatively, parental conflict predicted less variance in mental health problems than maltreatment (standardized beta = 0.18, P < 0.001). Children who experienced more maltreatment experience and exposure to COVID-19 showed elevated levels of mental health symptoms (standardized beta = 0.06, p < 0.05), as did those who experienced parental conflict and pandemic exposure (standardized beta = 0.06, p < 0.05). The findings highlight that tailored programs that focus on a healthy family environment and strategic parental support services may be particularly effective in reducing children's mental health problems due to COVID-19 exposure.
Children are more likely to experience maltreatment and parental conflict in a pandemic context, which can exacerbate their vulnerability to psychological disorders. The purpose of the present study was to examine mental health symptoms in children aged 0 to 10 years and consider related factors from the perspectives of maltreatment and parental conflict during the COVID-19 lockdown. Participants were 1286 parents aged 18 years and over with children aged 0 to 10 years were included. Several multivariable linear regressions were used to analyze the data. The largest variance in child mental health was explained by child maltreatment, as more maltreatment predicted higher reported psychological problems (standardized beta = 0.49, P < 0.001). Comparatively, parental conflict predicted less variance in mental health problems than maltreatment (standardized beta = 0.18, P < 0.001). Children who experienced more maltreatment experience and exposure to COVID-19 showed elevated levels of mental health symptoms (standardized beta = 0.06, p < 0.05), as did those who experienced parental conflict and pandemic exposure (standardized beta = 0.06, p < 0.05). The findings highlight that tailored programs that focus on a healthy family environment and strategic parental support services may be particularly effective in reducing children's mental health problems due to COVID-19 exposure.
Authors: Inga Schalinski; Martin H Teicher; Daniel Nischk; Eva Hinderer; Oliver Müller; Brigitte Rockstroh Journal: BMC Psychiatry Date: 2016-08-19 Impact factor: 3.630
Authors: Jörg M Fegert; Benedetto Vitiello; Paul L Plener; Vera Clemens Journal: Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health Date: 2020-05-12 Impact factor: 3.033