"Washing our hands is a superpower": Parent-child conversations about COVID-19 are longitudinally associated with children's social-emotional adjustment and their conceptualizations of the pandemic.

Abstract

Families with young school-age children experienced unique challenges during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic. This longitudinal, mixed-methods study explored links between parent-child conversations early in the COVID-19 pandemic and children's later social-emotional adjustment and conceptualizations of the pandemic. In a socioeconomically diverse (36% low-income) sample of 183 families, parents (94% women, 6% men) reported on the content of their conversations about the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020 with their young school-age children (81% White, 8% Hispanic/Latine, 2% Asian/Pacific Islander, 1% Black, 8% multiracial/other; 46% girls, 54% boys, M_age = 7.15 years). Key themes identified in parent-child conversations included precautionary measures, the seriousness of the pandemic, the possibility of death or hospitalization, and collective safety efforts. Findings revealed that the content of early conversations, as reported by parents, had significant associations with children's externalizing, attentional, and internalizing behavior problems 6-18 months later (Fall 2020 to Spring 2022; M_age = 8.01 years). Children were interviewed about their understandings of the pandemic, and their explanations echoed themes raised earlier in parent-child conversations, with added emphasis on children's emotional experiences and disruptions to their daily routines. The results highlight the evolving nature of parents' and children's understandings as the pandemic progressed, as well as the developmental and contextual influences on children's conceptualizations of the pandemic and the content of parent-reported parent-child conversations. This study underscores the importance of parental communication for children's responses to global crises, highlighting how informed and supportive dialogues may support children's well-being during challenging times. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).