Associations Between US High School Student and Parental Job Loss During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Adverse Mental Health Outcomes, Short Sleep, and Abuse by a Household Adult

Background

Parental job loss has been associated with adverse mental health outcomes and child abuse. This study examines associations between student and parental/household adult (referred to as “parent” for brevity) job loss and these outcomes among US high school students during a period of high job loss—early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey (ABES) data from January to June 2021 were analyzed to obtain prevalence and adjusted prevalence ratios for select adverse mental health outcomes, short sleep, and emotional and physical abuse by a parent associated with student and parental employment status before and during the pandemic. The sample was composed of 7705 US high school students.

Results

Over half of students (55.1%, 95% CI: 52.4%−57.8%) reported emotional abuse by a parent. Parental and student job loss were associated with adverse mental health outcomes and emotional abuse by a parent. However, only parental job loss was associated with physical abuse by a parent, which was reported by 15.3% of students (95% CI: 13.3−17.3). Students who lost a job during the pandemic reported a high prevalence of persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness (54.9%; 95% CI: 48.5–61.3) and poor mental health during the past 30 days (43.7%; 95% CI: 37.6–49.8).

Discussion

The high levels of adverse mental health outcomes and child abuse associated with parental and student job loss highlight the need for better supports in this area. Identification of the causes and potential interventions related to child maltreatment in the context of household economic stress could help reduce the burden of negative outcomes.