Economic Hardship During the Covid-19 Pandemic and Trajectories of Parent–Child Relationships: A Prospective Longitudinal Study Among Norwegian Families

Abstract

Children who grow up in families experiencing socioeconomic adversity are at increased risk for negative social and emotional outcomes. Negative outcomes may in part be derived from the effect of financial stress on parental emotion and behavior. During the Covid-19 pandemic, many families experienced abrupt economic change and unemployment that may have caused financial stress and impacted the relationship between parents and their children. The aim of the current study was to examine trajectories of parent–child interactions and parent–child closeness from before, during, and after the Covid-19 pandemic and explore how parental job loss and economic hardship during the pandemic interacted with parent–child relationships. Parents (N = 1423) self-reported parent–child interactions and parent–child closeness before, during, and after the pandemic and reported economic problems and employment problems up to three times during the pandemic. Linear mixed models were fitted to examine the relationship between work and economic problems and parent–child relationships over time. Results showed that mothers and fathers who experienced both work and economic problems reported a greater increase in negative parent–child interactions over time than parents who did not experience work and economic problems. Among fathers, but not among mothers, work and economic problems were also associated with reduced parent–child closeness over time. These findings support the importance of socioeconomic conditions in understanding and promoting family well-being and further provide empirical support for parenting behavior as a potentially important mechanism linking economic hardship and child development.