The role of gender, stress, and social support in parents' pandemic well-being: A cross-national study

IF 1.7 3区社会学 Q2 FAMILY STUDIES

Family Relations Pub Date : 2024-03-15 DOI:10.1111/fare.13018

Kjærsti Thorsteinsen, Marie Heijens, Elizabeth J. Parks-Stamm, Laura Froehlich, Sarah E. Martiny

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Objective

The goal was to investigate whether and how the well-being of mothers and fathers was differentially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in four European countries and whether differences in stress and social support explain observed gender differences.

Background

Previous research documents that the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on many people's lives and that some groups, such as women and parents, were affected more negatively than others. This study investigates potential underlying mechanisms and protective factors.

Method

In November 2020, 448 parents (218 fathers and 230 mothers, M_age = 41.18, SD = 8.47) from four European countries (Norway, Sweden, Germany, and the United Kingdom) completed an online questionnaire. Parents of elementary schoolchildren reported their stress, well-being, and social support currently and retrospectively for the first lockdown (spring 2020).

Results

Mothers experienced lower well-being than fathers during the pandemic, and parental well-being differed between countries. In addition, the stress caused by the need to combine paid work and child care partly mediated the relationship between gender and well-being, and social support played a protective role by buffering individuals from the negative impact of stress on well-being.

Conclusion

The study allows a more differentiated perspective on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on parental well-being in Europe.

Implications

Results suggest in future health-related crises, policymakers and practitioners working with families should focus on providing additional support to mothers of young children to maintain their well-being.

Abstract Image

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性别、压力和社会支持在父母的流行病福祉中的作用：一项跨国研究

本研究旨在调查欧洲四国的母亲和父亲的福祉是否以及如何受到 COVID-19 大流行的不同影响，以及压力和社会支持的差异是否可以解释观察到的性别差异。2020 年 11 月，来自四个欧洲国家（挪威、瑞典、德国和英国）的 448 名家长（218 名父亲和 230 名母亲，Mage = 41.18，SD = 8.47）填写了一份在线问卷。在大流行期间，母亲的幸福感低于父亲，各国父母的幸福感也不尽相同。此外，需要兼顾有偿工作和照顾孩子所造成的压力在一定程度上调节了性别与幸福感之间的关系，而社会支持则通过缓冲个人压力对幸福感的负面影响发挥了保护作用。研究结果表明，在未来与健康相关的危机中，政策制定者和从事家庭工作的从业人员应侧重于为幼儿母亲提供额外支持，以维持她们的幸福感。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Family Relations Multiple-

CiteScore

3.40

自引率

13.60%

发文量

164

期刊介绍： A premier, applied journal of family studies, Family Relations is mandatory reading for family scholars and all professionals who work with families, including: family practitioners, educators, marriage and family therapists, researchers, and social policy specialists. The journal"s content emphasizes family research with implications for intervention, education, and public policy, always publishing original, innovative and interdisciplinary works with specific recommendations for practice.