Examining Children’s Mental Health and Parenting Quality before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The goal of the current study was to characterize the impact of COVID-19 mitigation efforts (i.e., stay-at-home orders) on children’s mental health and parenting quality, as well as to assess predictors of children’s mental health during the pandemic. Methods: Seventy-nine children (18 with autism, 61 without) and their parents who participated in a previous study and were at least 10 years old (M = 13.8, SD = 1.7) were invited to participate in three online follow-up surveys post initiation of the stay-at-home-order (during May through November 2020). Children were predominantly White (49.4%) and not Hispanic or Latino (78.5%). Parents reported on children’s anxiety and depressive symptoms, as well as their own parenting practices. Family togetherness, conflict, financial problems, and parental mental health during the pandemic were also collected. Results: Children without autism experienced a significant decrease in anxiety symptoms across the beginning of the pandemic and a significant increase in depressive symptoms from pre- to post-stay-at-home-order. Children with autism experienced a significant decrease in depressive symptoms from pre- to post- stay-at-home-order. Parents of children without autism reported a significant decrease in positive parenting from pre- to post stay-at-home-order. Higher levels of permissive parenting and financial problems were associated with children’s depressive symptoms. Higher levels of parent mental health difficulties and permissive parenting were associated with higher levels of children’s anxiety symptoms. Conclusions: Children are experiencing both improvements and declines in mental health relative to pre-pandemic. Parenting quality and parental mental health have direct impacts on children’s functioning during the pandemic.