Abstract
The current study investigated the impacts of parental behaviors (threat communication and comforting) on children's COVID-19 fears and whether effects differed by age. Caregivers of 283 children (5.5–17 years, M = 10.17, SD = 3.25) from 186 families completed online measures assessing children's and parents’ COVID-19-related fears, children's sources of COVID-19 threat information, and parents’ engagement in behaviors to reduce child distress (i.e., comfort behaviors). Higher COVID-19 fear in parents was associated with greater communication of COVID-19 threat information, which was associated with higher COVID-19 fear in younger, but not older, children. Over and above parental fear and threat communication, greater exposure to COVID-19 threat information from community sources (e.g., media, school, friends) was associated with greater COVID-19 fear in children, regardless of age. Greater engagement of parental comfort behaviors buffered the association between community sources of COVID-19 threat information and COVID-19 fears in older, but not younger, children. These findings suggest that younger children might be more vulnerable to developing heightened COVID-19 fears as a result of increasing sources of COVID-19 threat information in their lives. This study highlights the importance of supporting the socioemotional well-being of children and families through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
Original language | English (US) |
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Article number | e22253 |
Journal | Developmental Psychobiology |
Volume | 64 |
Issue number | 3 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2022 |
Keywords
- COVID-19
- adolescents
- children
- fear transmission
- pandemic
- parental buffering
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Developmental Neuroscience
- Developmental Biology
- Behavioral Neuroscience