Parents and Children During the COVID-19 Lockdown: The Influence of Parenting Distress and Parenting Self-Efficacy on Children’s Emotional Well-Being

Frontiers in Psychology

article

Mara Morelli¹  Elena Cattelino²  Roberto Baiocco³  Carmen Trumello⁴  Alessandra Babore⁴  Carla Candelori⁴  Antonio Chirumbolo⁵ 

[1] Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome;Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Aosta Valley;Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome;Department of Psychological, Health, and Territorial Sciences, D’Annunzio University of Chieti–Pescara;Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome

关键词: pandemic;    parents;    children;    psychological distress;    parents’ self-efficacy;    parenting;    emotion regulation;    COVID-19;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2020.584645

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

On March 10, 2020, Italy went into lockdown due to the Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19) pandemic. The World Health Organization highlighted how the lockdown had negative consequences on psychological well-being, especially for children. The present study aimed to investigate parental correlates of children’s emotion regulation during the COVID-19 lockdown. Within the Social Cognitive Theory framework, a path model in which parenting self-efficacy and parental regulatory emotional self-efficacy mediated the relationship between parents’ psychological distress and both children’s emotional regulation, and children’s lability/negativity, was investigated. A total of 277 parents of children aged from 6 to 13 years completed an online survey that assessed their psychological distress, regulatory emotional self-efficacy, and parenting self-efficacy. Parents reported also children’s emotional regulation and lability/negativity. A structural equation model (SEM) using MPLUS 8.3 was tested. Results showed that the hypothesized model exhibited excellent fit, chi-square (83) = 140.40, p < 0.01, RMSEA = 0.05, CFI = 0.97, TLI = 0.96, SRMR = 0.04. The influences of parents’ psychological distress and parents’ regulatory emotional self-efficacy on children’s emotional regulation and lability/negativity were mediated by parenting self-efficacy. The mediation model was invariant across children’s biological sex and age, and geographical residence area (high risk vs. low risk for COVID-19). Results suggested how parents’ beliefs to be competent in managing parental tasks might be a protective factor for their children’s emotional well-being. Implications for intervention programs are discussed.

【 授权许可】

CC BY