The Effect of Parent Psychological Distress on Child Hyperactivity/Inattention During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Testing the Mediation of Parent Verbal Hostility and Child Emotional Symptoms
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) health crisis is strongly affecting the psychological well-being of the general population. According to a very recent literature, the imposed lockdown and social distancing measures have generated a series of negative outcomes, including fear of the future, a...
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doaj-ba46e1451e3f4f1fa8e2df854db5d87a2020-12-10T04:44:22ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782020-12-011110.3389/fpsyg.2020.567052567052The Effect of Parent Psychological Distress on Child Hyperactivity/Inattention During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Testing the Mediation of Parent Verbal Hostility and Child Emotional SymptomsDaniela Marchetti0Lilybeth Fontanesi1Serena Di Giandomenico2Cristina Mazza3Paolo Roma4Maria Cristina Verrocchio5Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Humanities, University of Urbino Carlo Bo, Urbino, ItalyDepartment of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyDepartment of Human Neuroscience, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, ItalyDepartment of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, ItalyThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) health crisis is strongly affecting the psychological well-being of the general population. According to a very recent literature, the imposed lockdown and social distancing measures have generated a series of negative outcomes, including fear of the future, anxiety, and somatization symptoms. Few studies have investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of parents and children, and still fewer studies have assessed the relationship between the psychological health of parents and children. The present study aimed at understanding the effect of parents’ psychological distress and verbal aggression on behavioral and emotional symptoms of children during the COVID-19 lockdown. Using an online survey administered in the first weeks of the lockdown in Italy, we explored the mediating effects of parent verbal hostility and child emotional symptoms on the relationship between parent distress and child hyperactivity/inattention in a sample of 878 Italian parents (87.4% mothers; meanage = 40.58). Two hypotheses were proposed: (1) parent distress would significantly predict child hyperactivity/inattention, and (2) parent verbal hostility and child emotional symptoms would mediate the association between parent distress and child hyperactivity/inattention. The serial mediated model confirmed both hypotheses, suggesting that higher rates of psychological distress in parents were associated with higher levels of hyperactivity/inattention in children. Parent verbal hostility and child emotional problems were also found to positively mediate this relation. Our results may be used to improve sociopsychological interventions in the general population in the near future. They may also contribute to the clinical definition of therapeutic paths for parents and families.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.567052/fullparent psychological distressverbal hostilityemotional symptomshyperactivity and attentionCOVID- 19 |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Daniela Marchetti Lilybeth Fontanesi Serena Di Giandomenico Cristina Mazza Paolo Roma Maria Cristina Verrocchio |
spellingShingle |
Daniela Marchetti Lilybeth Fontanesi Serena Di Giandomenico Cristina Mazza Paolo Roma Maria Cristina Verrocchio The Effect of Parent Psychological Distress on Child Hyperactivity/Inattention During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Testing the Mediation of Parent Verbal Hostility and Child Emotional Symptoms Frontiers in Psychology parent psychological distress verbal hostility emotional symptoms hyperactivity and attention COVID- 19 |
author_facet |
Daniela Marchetti Lilybeth Fontanesi Serena Di Giandomenico Cristina Mazza Paolo Roma Maria Cristina Verrocchio |
author_sort |
Daniela Marchetti |
title |
The Effect of Parent Psychological Distress on Child Hyperactivity/Inattention During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Testing the Mediation of Parent Verbal Hostility and Child Emotional Symptoms |
title_short |
The Effect of Parent Psychological Distress on Child Hyperactivity/Inattention During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Testing the Mediation of Parent Verbal Hostility and Child Emotional Symptoms |
title_full |
The Effect of Parent Psychological Distress on Child Hyperactivity/Inattention During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Testing the Mediation of Parent Verbal Hostility and Child Emotional Symptoms |
title_fullStr |
The Effect of Parent Psychological Distress on Child Hyperactivity/Inattention During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Testing the Mediation of Parent Verbal Hostility and Child Emotional Symptoms |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Effect of Parent Psychological Distress on Child Hyperactivity/Inattention During the COVID-19 Lockdown: Testing the Mediation of Parent Verbal Hostility and Child Emotional Symptoms |
title_sort |
effect of parent psychological distress on child hyperactivity/inattention during the covid-19 lockdown: testing the mediation of parent verbal hostility and child emotional symptoms |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Psychology |
issn |
1664-1078 |
publishDate |
2020-12-01 |
description |
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) health crisis is strongly affecting the psychological well-being of the general population. According to a very recent literature, the imposed lockdown and social distancing measures have generated a series of negative outcomes, including fear of the future, anxiety, and somatization symptoms. Few studies have investigated the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the well-being of parents and children, and still fewer studies have assessed the relationship between the psychological health of parents and children. The present study aimed at understanding the effect of parents’ psychological distress and verbal aggression on behavioral and emotional symptoms of children during the COVID-19 lockdown. Using an online survey administered in the first weeks of the lockdown in Italy, we explored the mediating effects of parent verbal hostility and child emotional symptoms on the relationship between parent distress and child hyperactivity/inattention in a sample of 878 Italian parents (87.4% mothers; meanage = 40.58). Two hypotheses were proposed: (1) parent distress would significantly predict child hyperactivity/inattention, and (2) parent verbal hostility and child emotional symptoms would mediate the association between parent distress and child hyperactivity/inattention. The serial mediated model confirmed both hypotheses, suggesting that higher rates of psychological distress in parents were associated with higher levels of hyperactivity/inattention in children. Parent verbal hostility and child emotional problems were also found to positively mediate this relation. Our results may be used to improve sociopsychological interventions in the general population in the near future. They may also contribute to the clinical definition of therapeutic paths for parents and families. |
topic |
parent psychological distress verbal hostility emotional symptoms hyperactivity and attention COVID- 19 |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.567052/full |
work_keys_str_mv |
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