Profiles of parent-reported family communication about the COVID-19 pandemic: Family predictors and child mental health correlates.

Abstract

This study examined family factors (i.e., parenting style and relationship quality) at the beginning of the pandemic that predicted profiles of family communication about COVID-19 6 months later, as well as communication profile differences in child well-being. Parents (N = 1,025, 66% female, 33.8% male, 0.1% nonbinary) of children aged 5-17 years (M_{child age} = 11.03, SD = 3.38; 53.4% male children; 76.5% non-Hispanic White, 5.6% Black, 2.8% Asian/Pacific Islander, 2.9% Native American/Indigenous, 10.4% Hispanic/Latine, 2.1% another race or ethnicity; approximately half in households with income below $75,000/year) completed surveys during the initial COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020 (Time 1) and approximately 6 months later (Time 2) about their parenting styles, family relationship quality, family communication about the pandemic, and their child's mental health. Latent profile analysis revealed a five-profile solution of family communication profiles for children (5-11 years; N = 533) and a three-profile solution for adolescents (12-17 years; N = 492). Both parental reports of family relationship quality and parenting styles (Time 1) predicted communication profiles (Time 2), such that better relationship quality and higher authoritative parenting at the start of the pandemic predicted communication profiles characterized by lower avoidant communication and higher active communication about COVID-19. Conversely, lower relationship quality and higher authoritative parenting were predictive of subsequent membership in profiles that were high in both avoidant and active communication. Importantly, across both age groups, parents who reported being higher in both avoidant and active communication about COVID-19 reported higher child mental health problems, whereas parents reporting communication profiles characterized by low avoidance and high active communication reported better child mental health. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).