Belastung von Eltern mit Kindern im Schulalter während verschiedener Phasen der COVID-19-Pandemie in Deutschland: Eine Analyse der COVID-19-Snapshot-Monitoring-(COSMO‑)Daten
Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Parents face a variety of personal challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic, while simultaneously being confronted with additional, school-related pandemic containment measures. OBJECTIVES: To investigate burden in parents of school-aged children across different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany and to identify particularly affected subgroups. METHODS: The COSMO project is a repetitive cross-sectional survey monitoring the psychosocial situation of the population in Germany during the pandemic with a sample size of approximately n = 1000 respondents per survey wave. A quantitative analysis of COSMO data was conducted using closed survey questions on the item "burden" as the main outcome, and, if applicable, on parenthood-associated burden from March 2020 until January 2021. RESULTS: During the first COVID-19 wave, parents of school-aged children were significantly more burdened compared to the general study population. However, burden decreased significantly from March/April to June 2020. During the second COVID-19 wave in January 2021, burden was homogeneously high across all groups. Single parenthood, a low household income, having a chronic health condition, a COVID-19 infection and a migration background were associated with higher burden, although none of these factors was consistently significant across the survey waves. Mothers reported to be more affected by parenthood-related burden than fathers. CONCLUSIONS: School measures for infection control have to be weighed carefully against the psychological impact on parental burden with subsequent negative impact on the family system. An English full-text version of this article is available at SpringerLink as Supplementary Information.
Authors: Julia Elisabeth Rabe, Hannah Schillok, Christina Merkel, Stephan Voss, Michaela Coenen, Freia De Bock, Ursula von Rüden, Anke Bramesfeld, Caroline Jung-Sievers, COSMO-Gruppe, Cornelia Betsch, Lars Korn, Lisa Felgendreff, Sarah Eitze, Philipp Schmid, Philipp Sprengholz, Lothar Wieler, Patrick Schmich, Heidrun Thaiss, Freia De Bock, Ursula von Rüden, Christina Merkel, Boris Orth, Volker Stollorz, Michael Ramharter, Michael Bosnjak, Saad Omer
Language: German
Topic: COVID-19 and Mental Health
Subfield: Clinical Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $2,890
OpenAlex ID: W3214913484