Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 Jan 19;20(3):1838.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph20031838.

Stressors and Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Vulnerable Hispanic Caregivers and Children

Mary Rodríguez-Rabassa  1   2   3 , Estefanía Torres-Marrero  1 , Pablo López  2 , Kamalich Muniz-Rodriguez  4 , Marilyn Borges-Rodríguez  4 , Allison A Appleton  5 , Larissa Avilés-Santa  6 , Luisa I Alvarado-Domenech  3
Affiliations

Stressors and Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Vulnerable Hispanic Caregivers and Children

Mary Rodríguez-Rabassa et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Psychological sequelae are important elements of the burden of disease among caregivers. Recognition of the impact of adversity and stress biomarkers is important to prevent mental health problems that affect rearing practices and child well-being. This cross-sectional study explored social determinants of health (SDoH)-mediated stressors during COVID-19 and risks for mental health problems among caregivers of children with prenatal Zika virus exposure. Twenty-five Hispanic caregivers completed surveys assessing SDoH vulnerabilities, COVID-exposures and impact, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology, and provided a hair sample for cortisol concentration (HCC). Most caregivers had low education, household income < $15,000/year, and were unemployed. Stressors included disrupted child education and specialized services, and food insecurity. While most reported PTSD symptomatology, multivariate linear regression models adjusted for the caregiver's age, education, and the child's sex, revealed that caregivers with high symptomatology had significantly lower HCC than those with low symptomatology and those with food insecurity had significantly higher HCC than participants without food insecurity. The impact of COVID-19 on daily life was characterized on average between worse and better, suggesting variability in susceptibility and coping mechanisms, with the most resilient identifying community support and spirituality resources. SDoH-mediators provide opportunities to prevent adverse mental health outcomes for caregivers and their children.

Keywords: COVID-19 impact; Hispanic; caregivers; hair cortisol; post-traumatic stress disorder symptomatology; vulnerable children.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The National Institutes of Health—National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities had no role in the design, execution, interpretation, or writing of the study. The opinions shared by the authors do not represent the opinions of the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, the National Institutes of Health, or the U.S. federal government.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
COVID-19 Exposure and Family Impact Survey (CEFIS)- Exposure Scale endorsed items by study participants.
Figure 2
Figure 2
COVID-19 Exposure and Family Impact Survey (CEFIS)—Impact Scale endorsed items (mean values) by study participants. Note: Higher scores indicate a higher impact with worse outcomes. The midpoint of the scale (identified with a dotted line) is 2.5; the items’ score range is 1 to 4 points.
Figure 3
Figure 3
COVID-19 Exposure and Family Impact Survey (CEFIS)—Distress Scale experienced by caregivers and their children due to COVID-19. Note: Higher scores indicate higher perceived distress; the items score range is 1 to 10 points.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Caregivers’ scores classification on (a) the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) and (b) the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) scores distribution for post-traumatic stress symptomatology in caregivers. Note: Higher scores indicate higher post-traumatic stress symptomatology; items score ranges from 0 to 88 points. A score of 33+ (identified with a dotted line) suggests a probable post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Center on the Developing Child The Impact of Early Adversity on Child Development (InBrief) [(accessed on 15 May 2022)]. Available online: www.developingchild.harvard.edu.
    1. Delardas O., Kechagias K.S., Pontikos P.N., Giannos P. Socio-Economic Impacts and Challenges of the Coronavirus Pandemic (COVID-19): An Updated Review. Sustainability. 2022;14:9699. doi: 10.3390/su14159699. - DOI
    1. Russell B.S., Hutchison M., Tambling R., Tomkunas A.J., Horton A.L. Initial Challenges of Caregiving During COVID-19: Caregiver Burden, Mental Health, and the Parent–Child Relationship. Child Psychiatry Hum. Dev. 2020;51:671–682. doi: 10.1007/s10578-020-01037-x. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Prime H., Wade M., Browne D.T. Pandemic-Related Disruption and Positive Adaptation: Profiles of Family Function at the Onset of the Pandemic. Advers. Resil. Sci. 2022;3:321–333. doi: 10.1007/s42844-022-00077-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cluver L., Lachman J.M., Sherr L., Wessels I., Krug E., Rakotomalala S., Blight S., Hillis S., Bachman G., Green O., et al. Parenting in a time of COVID-19. Lancet. 2020;395:e64. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30736-4. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

Publication types