Life course predictors of child emotional distress during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from a prospective intergenerational cohort study.

BACKGROUND: We examine precursors of child emotional distress during the COVID-19 pandemic in a prospective intergenerational Australian cohort study. METHODS: Parents (N = 549, 60% mothers) of 934 1-9-year-old children completed a COVID-19 specific module in 2020 and/or 2021. Decades prior, a broad range of individual, relational and contextual factors were assessed during parents' own childhood, adolescence and young adulthood (7-8 to 27-28 years old; 1990-2010) and again when their children were 1 year old (2012-2019). RESULTS: After controlling for pre-pandemic socio-emotional behaviour problems, COVID-19 child emotional distress was associated with a range of pre-pandemic parental life course factors including internalising difficulties, lower conscientiousness, social skills problems, poorer relational health and lower trust and tolerance. Additionally, in the postpartum period, pre-pandemic parental internalising difficulties, lower parental warmth, lower cooperation and fewer behavioural competencies predicted child COVID-19 emotional distress. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight the importance of taking a larger, intergenerational perspective to better equip young populations for future adversities. This involves not only investing in child, adolescent, and young adult emotional and relational health, but also in parents raising young families.

Life course psychosocial precursors of parent mental health resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic: A three-decade prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: There has been widespread interest in the implications of COVID-19 containment measures on the mental health of parents. Most of this research has focused on risk. Much less is known about resilience; yet such studies are key to protecting populations during major crises. Here we map precursors of resilience using life course data spanning three decades. METHODS: The Australian Temperament Project commenced in 1983 and now follows three generations. Parents (N = 574, 59 % mothers) raising young children completed a COVID-19 specific module in the early (May-September 2020) and/or later (October-December, 2021) phases of the pandemic. Decades prior, parents had been assessed across a broad range of individual, relational and contextual risk and promotive factors during childhood (7-8 years to 11-12 years), adolescence (13-14 years to 17-18 years) and young adulthood (19-20 years to 27-28 years). Regressions examined the extent to which these factors predicted mental health resilience, operationalised as lower than expected anxiety and depressive symptoms during the pandemic relative to pre-pandemic symptoms. RESULTS: Parent mental health resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic was consistently predicted by several factors assessed decades before the pandemic. These included lower ratings of internalizing difficulties, less difficult temperament/personality traits and stressful life events, and higher ratings of relational health. LIMITATIONS: The study included 37-39-year-old Australian parents with children age between 1 and 10 years. DISCUSSION: Results identified psychosocial indicators across the early life course that, if replicated, could constitute targets for long-term investment to maximise mental health resilience during future pandemics and crises.

Parental history of positive development and child behavior in next generation offspring: A two-cohort prospective intergenerational study.

This study examined whether positive development (PD) in adolescence and young adulthood predicts offspring behavior in two Australasian intergenerational cohorts. The Australian Temperament Project Generation 3 Study assessed PD at age 19-28 (years 2002-2010) and behavior in 1165 infants (12-18 months; 608 girls) of 694 Australian-born parents (age 29-35; 2012-2019; 399 mothers). The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Parenting Study assessed PD at age 15-18 (years 1987-1991) and behavior in 695 preschoolers (3-5 years; 349 girls) and their New Zealand born parents (age 21-46; 1994-2018; 363 mothers; 89% European ethnicity). In both cohorts, PD before parenthood predicted more positive offspring behavior (ßrange  = .11-.16) and fewer behavior problems (ßrange  = -.09 to -.11). Promoting strengths may secure a healthy start to life.

Parent and Peer Attachments in Adolescence and Paternal Postpartum Mental Health: Findings From the ATP Generation 3 Study.

Background: When adolescent boys experience close, secure relationships with their parents and peers, the implications are potentially far reaching, including lower levels of mental health problems in adolescence and young adulthood. Here we use rare prospective intergenerational data to extend our understanding of the impact of adolescent attachments on subsequent postpartum mental health problems in early fatherhood. Methods: At age 17-18 years, we used an abbreviated Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment to assess trust, communication, and alienation reported by 270 male participants in their relationships with mothers, fathers, and peers. More than a decade later, we assessed the adult males, now fathers, at 12 months postpartum (N = 409 infant offspring) for symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress. Logistic regression was used to examine the extent to which attachment dimensions predicted paternal postpartum mental health, adjusting for potential confounding, and with assessment for interactions between parent and peer attachments. Results: Trust in mothers and peers, and good communication with fathers during adolescence, were associated with 5 to 7 percentage point reductions in postpartum mental health symptoms in early fatherhood. Weak evidence of parent-peer interactions suggested secure attachments with either parent or peer may compensate for an insecure attachment with the other. Conclusions: Our results suggest that fostering trust and communication in relationships that adolescent boys have with parents and peers may have substantial effects on rates of paternal postpartum mental health problems. The protective benefits may be preventative in intergenerational cycles of risk for mental health problems.

Normative data for the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for young children in Australia.

AIM: The aim of this study was to report normative data for the parent-reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) from a large population cohort of young children aged 4-6 years from Victoria, Australia, to establish age- and sex-specific cut-off values for future use, and to determine the scale reliability of the SDQ for children aged 4-6 years. METHODS: Parents of children (n = 53 372) entering their first year of school in Victoria in 2010 completed a survey via a 15-page School Entrant Health Questionnaire reporting on the physical and emotional well-being of their child (including the SDQ), use of child health and other support services, and a range of socio-demographic variables. Reliability was assessed and norms generated. Appropriate cut-off values for each SDQ scale and total difficulties scale were generated for each age group separately for each sex. RESULTS: The five scales of the SDQ and total difficulties scale generally had acceptable internal reliability. Mean SDQ scale scores differed for both sex and age, although only a narrow age range is examined in this study. Cut-off values were marginally higher for girls (lower for prosocial) and generally increased with age. CONCLUSIONS: This study has utilised a large Australian population sample of children to generate age- and sex-specific cut-off values that define SDQ scores as 'normal', 'borderline' or 'abnormal' for Australian children aged 4-6 years.