Consequences of Restrictive Measures , and Not the Illness Itself, Predict Perceived Deterioration in the Quality of Daily Lives Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Parents of School-Aged Children

This study aims to analyse parents’ perception of the pandemic’s impact on their daily lives, considering experienced stressful COVID-19-related events, and effect on the condition of family members. A total of 1072 triads (mother, father, and child) participated in the study. We assessed the perceived changes in daily lives due to the pandemic and the occurrence of seven stressful COVID-19 events (for both parents) and positive and negative affective states experienced in the last few weeks (for both parents and their children). Fathers who were prohibited from doing their job or experienced a decrease in income during the pandemic were more likely to perceive greater negative changes in the quality of their daily lives. Mothers’ perception of negative changes was associated with decreased income, death of a close person, self-isolation and the father’s negative affect. Personal or child experience of the COVID-19 infection did not contribute to the explanation of the variance of perceived deterioration in daily lives in none of the samples.