The Role of Parents’ Negative Emotional Symptoms, Time Homebound, and Parent-Infant Interactions during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Authors

Kolbie A. Vincent, University of LouisvilleFollow
Katherine G. Golway, University of LouisvilleFollow
Cara H. Cashon, University of LouisvilleFollow

Introduction

Parent-child interaction plays a vital role in child development. Previous research has shown that parents’ negative emotional symptoms are related to the quality of parent-child interactions.

Parents with depression have been found to be less engaged and spend less time playing with their babies at 3 months of age compared to parents without depression. While depression has been researched extensively, there is a scarcity in the literature on other negative emotions, such as anxiety and general stress and their relation to parent-child interaction.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in the daily lives of caregivers and their infants (e.g., changes in childcare, employment, time spent at home, finances, etc.). The purpose of this study is to investigate whether parents’ emotional well-being is related to the amount of time parents interact with their infants and young children during the COVID-19 pandemic. I anticipate that greater number of negative symptoms reported by parents will be associated with less time spent engaging with their infants. I also predict that as the length of time parents have been homebound (e.g., 3 months) increases, the frequency of parent-child interaction will decrease.

Recommended Citation

Vincent, Kolbie A.; Golway, Katherine G.; and Cashon, Cara H., "The Role of Parents’ Negative Emotional Symptoms, Time Homebound, and Parent-Infant Interactions during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Grawemeyer Colloquium Papers, Vol. 2020.
Available at: https://ir.library.louisville.edu/gcp/vol2020/iss/8