Influence of The COVID-19 Pandemic on Parenting Stress Across Asian Countries: A Cross-National Study

Abstract

Background In a previous study, we demonstrated that the accumulation of parenting stress during prolonged school closures and restrictions on daily activities due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan indicates the need for mental health intervention for parents at higher risk of parenting stress. However, few studies have focused on parenting stress in other Asian countries, although they have experienced higher numbers of COVID-19 infections. Methods We conducted an online survey immediately after the number of new cases in India significantly increased (September to November 2020). We measured parenting stress, anxiety, and fear associated with the COVID-19 crisis, as evaluated by the Parenting Stress Index, Short-Form (PSI-SF) and the Coronavirus Anxiety Scale (CAS), across three Asian countries—India (n = 142), Malaysia (n = 69), and Japan (n = 182)—in addition to the US (n = 203). We also investigated whether respondents had adverse childhood experiences (ACE) as a risk factor for parenting stress. Results For all countries, we found significant increases in participants’ current parenting stress levels, compared to what they recalled regarding their lives before COVID-19-related restrictions and school closures were enacted. Textual analysis qualitatively identified common terms related to parenting stress across all countries. We also found a statistical model that indicated ACE in parents was a critical risk factor for higher parenting stress via increasing anxiety and fear related to the pandemic. Conclusions These results indicate the need to improve the mental health of caregivers who are at risk for higher levels of parenting stress during the COVID-19 pandemic in Asian countries as well as Western countries. These results indicate that there is a need to improve the mental health of caregivers who are at risk for higher levels of parenting stress during the COVID-19 pandemic globally.

Global prevalence of physical and psychological child abuse during COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…The penultimate analyses, above, yielded 10 empirical studies that met the general inclusion criteria, and Appendix 3 gives the details for these studies: author/s, publication year, study site, time frame, and the domestic violence outcome measurement. Given the short time frame that has occurred since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 11, 2020, according to the World Health Organization), all studies were published between 2020 and 2022, specifically, nine in 2021 and ( AboKresha et al, 2021 ; Augusti et al, 2021 ; Kurata et al, 2021 ; Lee et al, 2021 ; Rodriguez et al, 2021 ; Sari et al, 2021 ; Wong et al, 2021 ; Yamaoka et al, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2021 ) one in 2022 ( Selvi, 2022 ). However, although in effect we identified 10 empirical studies, one study ( Kurata et al, 2021 ) included four studies, so that we actually used 13 empirical studies.…”

“…Given the short time frame that has occurred since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic (March 11, 2020, according to the World Health Organization), all studies were published between 2020 and 2022, specifically, nine in 2021 and ( AboKresha et al, 2021 ; Augusti et al, 2021 ; Kurata et al, 2021 ; Lee et al, 2021 ; Rodriguez et al, 2021 ; Sari et al, 2021 ; Wong et al, 2021 ; Yamaoka et al, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2021 ) one in 2022 ( Selvi, 2022 ). However, although in effect we identified 10 empirical studies, one study ( Kurata et al, 2021 ) included four studies, so that we actually used 13 empirical studies. There was wide geographic representation among the studies, with three conducted in the United States ( Kurata et al, 2021 ; Lee et al, 2021 ; Rodriguez et al, 2021 ) and the remainders in Egypt ( AboKresha et al, 2021 ), Norway ( Augusti et al, 2021 ), Netherlands ( Sari et al, 2021 ), China ( Wong et al, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2021 ), Japan ( Kurata et al, 2021 ; Yamaoka et al, 2021 ), Indonesia ( Selvi, 2022 ), India ( Kurata et al, 2021 ), and Malaysia ( Kurata et al, 2021 ).…”

“…However, although in effect we identified 10 empirical studies, one study ( Kurata et al, 2021 ) included four studies, so that we actually used 13 empirical studies. There was wide geographic representation among the studies, with three conducted in the United States ( Kurata et al, 2021 ; Lee et al, 2021 ; Rodriguez et al, 2021 ) and the remainders in Egypt ( AboKresha et al, 2021 ), Norway ( Augusti et al, 2021 ), Netherlands ( Sari et al, 2021 ), China ( Wong et al, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2021 ), Japan ( Kurata et al, 2021 ; Yamaoka et al, 2021 ), Indonesia ( Selvi, 2022 ), India ( Kurata et al, 2021 ), and Malaysia ( Kurata et al, 2021 ). All the studies focused on short period such as weeks or months immediately after COVID-19 to compare the effect of restrictions on child abuse, although they varied for instances in terms of random vs. nonrandom sampling; additionally, nearly all studies used online surveys, with one of those on a mobile phone.…”

“…After our quality assessment, four studies ( AboKresha et al, 2021 ; Lee et al, 2021 ; Rodriguez et al, 2021 ; Sari et al, 2021 ) earned the maximum score of six points to indicate no bias. One study ( Selvi, 2022 ) received a bias score of four points, the lowest of the ten studies, and the remainders ( Augusti et al, 2021 ; Kurata et al, 2021 ; Wong et al, 2021 ; Yamaoka et al, 2021 ; Zhang et al, 2021 ) received five points.…”

Impactos desenvolvimentais de saúde mental e aprendizagem em crianças, adolescentes, pais e professores pós-fechamento das escolas: uma revisão sistemática

“…Quatro estudos relataram um aumento de tempo com os filhos [59,85,86,89,94] e de conflitos familiares [94,96]. Enquanto um relatou https://doi.org/10.25118/2763-9037.2022.v12.416 diminuição devido ao aumento do tempo de uso de internet durante o ensino online [42].…”