Parental Well-being and Children’s Internalizing Symptoms During the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States

Author

Diana Duran, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

Date of Award

5-2023

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Clinical Psychology

First Advisor

Dr. Juventino Hernandez Rodriguez

Second Advisor

Dr. Liza Talavera-Garza

Third Advisor

Dr. Laura Seligman

Abstract

During the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic stay-at-home orders in the U.S., many parents of school-age children faced new challenges, such increased child-care demands (Adams, 2021). Prime et al. (2020) theorized these negative pandemic impacts would decrease parents' well-being and thereby impact children's psychological adjustment. This study hypothesized that higher number of negative pandemic impacts would predict worsened stress and relationship satisfaction levels among parents, and that this would in turn predict worsened child internalizing symptoms. 595 U.S. parents of school-age children were recruited online during May 2020. Higher number of negative pandemic impacts predicted worsened parents' stress and relationship satisfaction levels. Parents' stress (but not relationship satisfaction) levels predicted increased child internalizing symptoms. These findings suggest that supporting parents of school-age children in reducing their stress levels could be important for children's mental health during future situations of prolonged stay-at-home orders.

Comments

Copyright 2023 Diana Duran. All Rights Reserved.

https://go.openathens.net/redirector/utrgv.edu?url=https://www.proquest.com/dissertations-theses/parental-well-being-children-s-internalizing/docview/2842692225/se-2?accountid=7119

Recommended Citation

Duran, Diana, "Parental Well-being and Children’s Internalizing Symptoms During the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States" (2023). Theses and Dissertations. 1209.
https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/etd/1209