Families in the COVID-19 pandemic: parental stress, parent mental health and the occurrence of adverse childhood experiences-results of a representative survey in Germany

Abstract

Parenting during the COVID-19 pandemic is highly challenging, with parents having to meet various demands simultaneously. An increase in adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) has been widely predicted, but empirical evidence is still scarce. This study aimed to (1) generate representative data on pandemic-related stress, parental stress, general stress, parental subjective and mental health, and the occurrence of ACEs; (2) identify risk factors for an increase in ACEs, and (3) provide qualitative data on parents' experiences. A representative survey was conducted in Germany in August 2020 with 1024 parents of underage children (M_age = 41.70, 50.9% female). More than 50% of parents reported being stressed by social distancing and the closure of schools and childcare facilities. Parental stress increased significantly during the pandemic (d = 0.21). Subgroups of parents also reported very high levels of depressive symptoms (12.3%) and anxiety (9.7%). Up to one-third of the sample reported ACEs in the child's lifetime. In this group, 29.1% reported an increase in children witnessing domestic violence during the pandemic, and 42.2% an increase verbal emotional abuse. These families were characterized by higher parental stress, job losses, and younger parent and child age. Positive aspects of the pandemic related primarily to personal or family life (e.g. slower pace of life, increase in family time). While some parents coped well, a particularly negative pattern was observed in a subgroup of families that experienced an increase in ACEs. Parental stress emerged as important target point for interventions addressing the negative sequelae of the pandemic.

Keywords: Adverse childhood experiences; COVID-19; Child abuse; Child maltreatment; Child neglect; Domestic violence; Mental health; Parental stress.

Fig. 1

Stress due to pandemic-related restrictions, ordered by highest stress (score ≥ 4). Items rated as “not applicable” were excluded from the analysis, resulting in varying subsample sizes

Fig. 2

Comparison of PHQ-4 scores for depression, anxiety, and total score in our sample and in German normative data [21]. All between-group differences were significant at p < 0.001

Fig. 3

Change in occurrence of the subtypes of child abuse and neglect during the pandemic relative to pre-COVID-19 levels. The n in brackets indicates the number of parents reporting lifetime occurrence

Fig. 4

Comparison of outcome measures in cases where frequency of witnessing domestic violence increased vs. decreased/did not change during the pandemic for a pandemic-related stress and parental stress, b general stress and subjective health, and c anxiety and depression. Cohen’s d for effect size (d = 0.20: small, d = 0.50: medium, d = 0.80 large); *p < .05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001

Fig. 5

Comparison of outcome measures in cases where frequency of verbal emotional abuse increased vs. decreased/did not change during the pandemic for a pandemic-related stress and parental stress, b general stress and subjective health, and c anxiety and depression. Cohen’s d for effect size (d = 0.20: small, d = 0.50: medium, d = 0.80: large); *p < 0.05, **p < 0.01, ***p < 0.001

Fig. 6

a Factors that burdened parents most during the pandemic. Data from 941 participants. Multiple categories per case (M_categories = 1.27). b Positive aspects of the pandemic. Data from 941 participants. Multiple categories per case (M_categories = 1.16)