Psychological impact of Covid-19 pandemic in Italian families of children with neurodevelopmental disorders

Abstract

Research on the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted negative effects on the general population and particularly on parents. However, little is known about families of children with Neurodevelopmental Disorder (NDD). The present study investigated parental stress, coparenting, and child adjustment in Italian families with children with NDD (N = 82) and typical developing children (TD, N = 82) during lockdown, using an online survey. Results of quantitative analyses showed a significant increase in parental stress and child externalizing behaviors, but not of coparenting. Parental stress is predicted by externalizing behaviors, and coparenting acted as a moderator in the relationship between the change in the amount of time spent with the children before and during lockdown and parental stress. In children with NDD, the decrease in therapeutic/rehabilitation support predicted higher externalizing behaviors. Qualitative analysis showed that beyond the difficulties and worries arising during lockdown, most of the parents appreciated the opportunity of spending more time with their children and strengthening the parent-child relationship. In conclusion, our results point out the importance of ensuring continuity of care for children with NDD (e.g. telehealth) during home confinement and of providing psychological support for parents.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; Child externalizing behaviors; Coparenting; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Parental stress.

Fig. 1

Moderation model with Δ time with the child and parental stress at different levels of coparenting. Note. NDD: Neurodevelopmental Disorder; TD: Typical development. The low level of coparenting is 1 SD below the mean, the medium level is at the mean, and the high level is 1 SD above the mean.