Practitioner and Military Family Perspectives of Child Maltreatment Risk and Protective Factors During COVID-19: A Multimethod Approach

Physical distancing efforts due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have isolated families and may result in a number of unintended consequences, including increased parental loneliness, anger, anxiety, depression, and stress; increased parental substance abuse; paranoia about leaving the home; and decreased support from family and friends (Humphreys et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020; Zhou et al., 2020). As parents’ stress increases and their mental health decreases, they are less likely to engage in positive parenting and instead engage in negative parenting behaviors such as harsh, permissive, or neglectful parenting (Beckerman et al., 2017; Ciciolla et al., 2013). In fact, recent reports suggest the COVID-19 pandemic has elevated parental stress, resulting in increased risk of harsh parenting (Chung et al., 2020) and child maltreatment (Brown et al., 2020). In addition, parent stress and mental health may be affected by limited family relationships and social support during this time; for example, relationship issues during COVID-19 lockdowns have been related to mental health concerns (Pieh et al., 2020). Conversely, positive family relationships, including intimate-partner relationships and social support, may buffer stress and act as a protective factor for child maltreatment (Brown et al., 2020). These increased risks and decreased protections place families at increased risk for child maltreatment (i.e., physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or neglect) during COVID-19 (Humphreys et al., 2020; Riegler et al., 2020). In particular, active duty military families often have unique experiences that can affect their parent stress and mental health as well as social support and family relationships, which in turn can affect their risk for child maltreatment.

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Work Title Practitioner and Military Family Perspectives of Child Maltreatment Risk and Protective Factors During COVID-19: A Multimethod Approach
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Creators
  1. Miranda P. Kaye
  2. Amanda M. Ferrara
  3. Daniel F Perkins
License CC BY 4.0 (Attribution)
Work Type Article
Publication Date 2021
Deposited January 02, 2025

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  • Updated Description, Publication Date Show Changes
    Description
    • Physical distancing efforts due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have isolated families and may result in a number of unintended consequences,
    • including increased parental loneliness, anger, anxiety, depression, and stress; increased parental substance abuse; paranoia about leaving the home; and decreased support from family and friends (Humphreys et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020; Zhou et al., 2020). As parents’ stress increases and their mental health decreases, they are less likely to engage in positive parenting and instead engage in negative parenting behaviors such as harsh, permissive, or neglectful parenting (Beckerman et
    • al., 2017; Ciciolla et al., 2013). In fact, recent reports
    • suggest the COVID-19 pandemic has elevated parental stress, resulting in increased risk of harsh parenting (Chung et al., 2020) and child maltreatment (Brown et al., 2020). In addition, parent stress and mental health may be affected by limited family relationships and social support during this time; for example, relationship issues during COVID-19 lockdowns have been related to mental health concerns (Pieh et al., 2020). Conversely, positive family relationships, including intimate-partner relationships and social support, may buffer stress and act as a protective factor for child maltreatment (Brown et al., 2020). These increased risks and decreased protections place families at increased risk for child maltreatment (i.e., physical, sexual, or emotional abuse or neglect) during COVID-19 (Humphreys et al., 2020; Riegler et al., 2020). In particular, active duty military families often have unique experiences that can affect their parent stress and mental health as well as social support and family relationships, which in turn can affect their risk for child maltreatment.
    Publication Date
    • 2021
  • Added Creator Miranda P. Kaye
  • Added Creator Amanda M. Ferrara
  • Added Creator Daniel F Perkins
  • Added NPSPCovidarticle 2021.pdf
  • Updated License Show Changes
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    • https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
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  • Updated