We examined US parent and youth perceptions of how life events, both positive and negative, associated with COVID-19 resulted in changes in family and youth functioning. Families (n = 105, 80% whit...

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/02724316211036744

COVID-19 Life Events Spill-Over on Family Functioning and Adolescent Adjustment

To slow down the spread of the COVID-19 virus, schools around the world were closed in early 2020, transferring children's scholastic activities to the homes and imposing a massive burden on parents and school-age children. Using data of a 21-day diary study conducted between March and April 2020 in Germany, this work examined whether (a) distance learning and (b) parents' involvement therein were associated with negative parent-child interactions and affective well-being of parents and children, over and above the effect of daily stressors. Participants were 562 parents (489 mothers, Mage = 42.79, SDage = 6.12, range = 25-63) most of whom were married (n = 382, 68.0%). They responded to the daily items with respect to the youngest child living in their household (Mage = 9.74, SDage = 2.81, range = 6-19). On days when children were working on school tasks, parents reported more negative parent-child interactions as well as lower parental and child positive affect and higher child negative affect, but not higher parental negative affect. Moreover, days when parents were more heavily involved in learning (i.e., when children worked less independently) were days with more negative parent-child interactions, lower parental and child positive affect, and higher parental and child negative affect. Negative parent-child interactions were linked to lower affective well-being of parents and children, and partially accounted for the relation among daily stressors and affective well-being. The present work highlights the need for measures to better support school-age children and their parents during distance learning. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

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Distance learning, parent-child interactions, and affective well-being of parents and children during the COVID-19 pandemic: A daily diary study.

Play is a key factor for children's healthy psychological, emotional, social, and cognitive development. During the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been postulated that children's play was affected, not only regarding the time children spent playing but also in terms of the qualitative characteristics of play. The aim of this review was to investigate how children's play has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. A review was conducted in the PubMed, Google Scholar, EMBASE, SCOPUS, ERIC, PsycInfo, and JSTOR databases up to 6 December 2020. Furthermore, references of eligible studies as well as of relevant articles were searched using a snowballing technique. The search retrieved 17 eligible studies, conducted in Europe and North America. In general, outdoor play was reduced during the pandemic; on the other hand, there was an increase in indoor play and in videogames-screen time. COVID-19 was present in children's pretend play. Children's play was a key contributor to children's mood and wellbeing. Furthermore, teachers were especially concerned about how children's play was affected during the lockdown measures. There is evidence that children's play habits were affected during the COVID-19 pandemic; further research is required, especially cross-culturally oriented.

https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/8/706/pdf

Play Behaviors in Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Review of the Literature

Objective The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown measures have had a clear psychological impact on families, and specifically those with children with chronic illnesses have reported greater overloads and exhaustion. The objective of this study was to evaluate the exposure, impact and experience of the pandemic on families of pediatric solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients compared to families of healthy children and adolescents. Methods We recruited 96 families, 48 with a pediatric SOT recipient and 48 healthy controls, matched by child age and gender. A primary caregiver from each family responded to an online sociodemographic questionnaire and the COVID-19 Exposure and Family Impact Survey (CEFIS), which explores the exposure, impact and experience of the pandemic and lockdown on families. Results Exposure to the pandemic was greater in families of healthy children and adolescents. The impact was mostly negative in both groups: caregivers reported increased anxiety (76%) and mood disturbances (71.9%) and hindered quality of sleep (64.6%) and health habits (58.3%). On the positive side, family relationships improved. Qualitatively, the SOT group positively perceived isolation and established hygienic measures as protective and destigmatizing, although they reported fear of virus transmission to their child. Conclusions The psychological impact of the pandemic has been similar in both groups, although families of transplant recipients have protected themselves more, probably because they are used to prevention measures and they see contagion as a graver risk. Additionally, SOT recipients' families presented some idiosyncratic elements, especially a decrease in their perception of stigma associated with the medical condition.

Impact of COVID-19 on Families of Pediatric Solid Organ Transplant Recipients.

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread throughout the world, and concerns about psychological, social, and economic consequences are growing rapidly. Individuals’ empathy-based reactions towards others may be an important resilience factor in the face of COVID-19. Self-report data from 15,375 participants across 23 countries were collected from May to August 2020 during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, this study examined different facets of empathy—Perspective-Taking, Empathic Concern, and Personal Distress, and their association with cross-cultural ratings on Individualism, Power Distance, The Human Development Index, Social Support Ranking, and the Infectious Disease Vulnerability Index, as well as the currently confirmed number of cases of COVID-19 at the time of data collection. The highest ratings on Perspective-Taking were obtained for USA, Brazil, Italy, Croatia, and Armenia (from maximum to minimum); on Empathetic Concern, for the USA, Brazil, Hungary, Italy, and Indonesia; and on Personal Distress, from Brazil, Turkey, Italy, Armenia, Indonesia. Results also present associations between demographic factors and empathy across countries. Limitations and future directions are presented.

Cross-Cultural Perspectives on the Role of Empathy during COVID-19’s First Wave

Objective: Several researchers and clinicians have focused on the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for children and parents. However, we may suppose that some families may also experience positive aspects of the COVID-19 lockdown such as increased emotional closeness and more time for free play and creativity in parent-child relationships. The aim of the current study was to investigate predictors of the positive experiences in parent-child relationship in Polish mothers and fathers during the COVID-19 outbreak. Methods: 228 mothers and 231 fathers completed the Brief version of the Empathic Sensitivity Questionnaire, The Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale Short Form, Social Support Scale, Parenting Self-Agency Measure, as well as The Scale of Positive Experiences in Parent-Child Relationship during the COVID-19 lockdown. Results: Our results show that parenting self-efficacy and social support are the best predictors of the positive experiences in parent-child relationships in both mothers and fathers during the lockdown. Additionally, perspective taking is a positive predictor of the positive experiences in mothers, whereas increased affective components of empathy (empathic concern and personal distress) are predictors of the positive experiences in the parent-child relationship in fathers. Conclusions: Our study emphasizes a need to focus not only on negative, but also on positive consequences of COVID-19 lockdown for children and parents, and shows which factors could be important targets for preventive and therapeutic interventions for mothers and fathers during the epidemic.

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Factors related to positive experiences in parent-child relationship during the COVID-19 lockdown. The role of empathy, emotion regulation, parenting self-efficacy and social support

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Factors related to positive experiences in parent-child relationship during the COVID-19 lockdown. The role of empathy, emotion regulation, parenting self-efficacy and social support