COVID-Related Stressors and Their Impact on Parental Sleep, Parenting Behaviors, and Child Functioning

This longitudinal study examined the impact on families of multiple stressors that emerged due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Accordingly, we modeled the indirect effects of three stressors (i.e., the stress of new childcare and work demands, financial stress, and health-related stress assessed within the first month of the pandemic in the United States) on children's functioning over the next 8 weeks via the mediating pathways of parental sleep quality and two forms of parenting (i.e., angry/hostile, constructive). The longitudinal sample of 701 parents (81.5% female; M-age = 41.7, SD = 8.2) reported an average of 1.8 children (SD = 1.0) living in the home (M-age = 9.8 years old, SD = 5.8 years). Multilevel results suggested that, at the within-families level (Level 1), drops in parental sleep on a specific week predicted corresponding increases in angry/hostile parenting, which predicted increases in children's distress during that same week. At the between-families level (Level 2), baseline levels of stress from new demands were predictive of stably higher levels of angry/hostile parenting, which predicted stably higher levels of children's distress across the 8 weeks of the study. Furthermore, baseline health-related stress and financial stress predicted lower stable levels of parental sleep quality, which predicted higher stable levels of children's distress. Finally, health-related stress predicted lower levels of parental sleep quality, which predicted higher levels of angry/hostile parenting, which predicted higher levels of children's distress. Findings highlight the important role that parents' sleep plays in both parenting and children's functioning during periods of high stress.

Automated summary

This longitudinal study examined the impact on families of multiple stressors that emerged due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It found that parental sleep quality and two forms of parenting (angry/hostile, constructive) mediated the relationship between parental stress and children's functioning. The results highlight the important role of parental sleep in parenting and children's functioning during high-stress periods.