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. 2024 Sep 28;16(9):e70372.
doi: 10.7759/cureus.70372. eCollection 2024 Sep.

Parental Stress and Psychological Distress and Their Association With Spousal Support Among Parents of School-Age Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic in South India: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

Sthuthi Shireen  1 , Arya Jith  2 , Priya E Thomas  3 , Sharon P Methala  4 , Kathleen A Mathew  1
Affiliations

Parental Stress and Psychological Distress and Their Association With Spousal Support Among Parents of School-Age Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic in South India: A Cross-Sectional Observational Study

Sthuthi Shireen et al. Cureus. .

Abstract

Context: The COVID-19 pandemic presented unprecedented challenges to families in the form of social isolation, economic difficulties and inaccessibility of educational and supportive services.

Aims: To assess the levels of parental stress and psychological distress among parents of school-age children during the COVID-19 pandemic and to analyse its correlation with spousal support.

Materials and methods: A cross-sectional, web-based study was conducted among the parents of school-age children in south India. One hundred thirty-two completed responses were obtained. Study tools included Parental Stress Scale, Spouse Support Scale and Kessler's psychological distress scale-6 item version.

Results: The mean parental stress score was 42.39 ± 9.679. Sixty percent of the participants reported moderate to high levels of psychological distress. Parental stress and psychological distress scores were noted to have a significant negative correlation with spousal support scores (r=-.486, p=.000 and r=-.401, p=.000 respectively).

Conclusion: Our study findings show that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the psychological well-being of parents of school-age children. Supportive interventions to address parenting difficulties need to be undertaken to prevent long-term adverse mental health outcomes. Lessons learnt from the pandemic are important for clinicians and policymakers to take measures to alleviate parental stress as well as to promote the psychological well-being of parents and children.

Keywords: pandemic; parental stress; psychological distress; school-age children; spousal support.

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Conflict of interest statement

Human subjects: Consent was obtained or waived by all participants in this study. Ethics Committee of Amrita School of Medicine issued approval ECASM-AIMS-2021-309. Animal subjects: All authors have confirmed that this study did not involve animal subjects or tissue. Conflicts of interest: In compliance with the ICMJE uniform disclosure form, all authors declare the following: Payment/services info: All authors have declared that no financial support was received from any organization for the submitted work. Financial relationships: All authors have declared that they have no financial relationships at present or within the previous three years with any organizations that might have an interest in the submitted work. Other relationships: All authors have declared that there are no other relationships or activities that could appear to have influenced the submitted work.

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