The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on First-Time Parents
Project Author
Issue Date
2023-04-03
Authors
Henderson, Claire
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First Reader
Stanger, Sarah B.
Additional Readers
Chowdhury, Monali
Keywords
Postpartum Depression , Postpartum Anxiety , Parent-Infant Bonding , Parent Coping , COVID-19
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Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic affected a particular population of first-time parents who had their first child either right before the pandemic or during it. Postpartum depression (PPD) and anxiety (PPA) can affect both the mother and father of the infant suggesting 1 in 7 parents may experience PPD and 35% may experience PPA (Statistics on Postpartum Depression - Postpartum Depression Resources, n.d.; MBA, 2022). It is also thought that PPD and PPA share a comorbidity together and that up to 50% of cases have both PPD and PPA present (Postpartum Anxiety - How Postpartum Depression Can Cause Anxiety, 2016). PPD and PPA can also affect the parents ability to bond with their child, and research shows that being bonded with at least one parent is beneficial for the child in the future (Lewis, 2012). While parental mental health and the parent-infant bond may already be a struggle for some parents under non-pandemic circumstances, the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected both (Hyland et al., 2020; Ustun, 2021; Öngören, 2021; Gambin et al., 2020). In this study, a correlational and mediation analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between parental mental health (PPD/PPA) and parent-infant bonding, and with parent coping as a mediator of those associations. I conceptualized coping through the Responses to Stress framework, which categorizes coping as primary control, secondary control, and disengagement (Conner-Smith et al., 2000). A cross-sectional sample of parents (N = 52, M parent age = 33.6, 75% female, 76.9% White) of 1-3-year-old children (M child age = 1.9, 51.9% male, 67.3% White) living in the US were recruited online through Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk). The Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS; Cox et al., 1987) was used to examine PPD symptoms. The Postpartum Specific Anxiety Scale (PSAS; Adapted; Fallon et al., 2016) was adapted to examine any PPA symptoms. The Responses to Stress -COVID-19 Questionnaire (RSQ; Conner-Smith et al., 2000) was used to examine parent coping strategies in response to COVID-19 pandemic stress. The Postpartum Bonding Questionnaire (PBQ; Brockington et al., 2006) was adapted to examine any bonding difficulties. It was hypothesized that parents who endorsed more anxious and depressive symptoms would also report more difficulty with parent-child bonding. It was also hypothesized that parents who experienced less anxious and depressive symptoms would be more likely to use primary and secondary control engagement coping strategies, and would experience better parent-child bonding. Both PPD symptoms and PPA symptoms were both significantly associated with greater difficulties with parent-infant bonding. None of the mediation analyses were significant. In sum, greater parent-reported PPD and PPA symptoms were associated with greater difficulties with parent-child bonding, but those relationships were not mediated by parent coping strategies. Implications include the importance of mental health support accessibility, involving parent-infant bonding interventions in the treatment of PPD or PPA, and assessing PPD and PPA symptoms well beyond the immediate postpartum period.
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Major
Psychology
Department
Psychology
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Honors
Psychology, 2023