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. 2022 Mar;52(3):1314-1325.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-021-05004-w. Epub 2021 Apr 28.

Elevated Levels of COVID-19-Related Stress and Mental Health Problems Among Parents of Children with Developmental Disorders During the Pandemic

Randolph C H Chan  1 , Suk Chun Fung  2
Affiliations

Elevated Levels of COVID-19-Related Stress and Mental Health Problems Among Parents of Children with Developmental Disorders During the Pandemic

Randolph C H Chan et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

COVID-19 not only threatens people's physical health, but also creates disruption in work and social relationships. Parents may even experience additional strain resulting from childcare responsibilities. A total of 129 parents participated in this study. Parents of children with developmental disorders showed higher levels of parenting stress, depressive symptoms, and anxiety symptoms than did parents of children with typical development. Parenting stress and health worries were positively related to mental health symptoms. The association between having a child with developmental disorders and mental health symptoms was mediated by parenting stress. This study provides a timely investigation into the stress and mental health of parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Implications on web-based parenting skills interventions, online psychological support services, and family-friendly policy initiatives are discussed.

Keywords: COVID-19; Health worries; Mental health; Parenting stress; Parents of children with developmental disorders; Work and social disruption.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
A hypothesized model of COVID-19-related stress and mental health in parents
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Standardized path coefficients of the hypothesized model. Solid lines represent significant paths, dashed lines represent non-significant paths; controlling for gender, age, education level, monthly household income level, and number of children; *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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