[Between care and lockdown: Parenting psychologically vulnerable children during COVID-19-pandemic].

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 pandemic posed significant challenges for parents, due to the closure of childcare facilities and schools, the shift to working from home, and the loss of support services.

AIM: To examine the extent to which COVID-related stress (CRS) and caring for psychiatrically vulnerable children (PVC) influenced parental stress and the experience of psychological basic needs during the first COVID-19 lockdown.

METHOD: Parents of PVC (n = 203) and parents of non-PVC (n = 919) completed questionnaires assessing parental stress and psychological needs. Associations were examined using multiple regression analyses.

RESULTS

Parents of PVC experienced higher parental stress, greater need frustration and lower need satisfaction. CRS increased these experiences for all parents; while caring for PVC specifically contributed to higher parental stress. Notably, an interaction effect between PVC and CRS was found in total parental stress: CRS had less impact on parental stress in families with PVC.

CONCLUSION

The findings underscore the need for (secondary) preventive support for all parents, and specific, accessible, and high-quality support for parents of PVC during pandemics. Moreover, targeted attention for parents both with or without PVC remains essential at policy and research levels.