Two-year trajectories of psychopathology and differential parenting during COVID-19: A sibling study.

Many studies have documented increases in child mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic, compared to prepandemic estimates. However, less is known about the long-term trajectories of mental health during the pandemic, and how shared (e.g., family-average parenting) and nonshared (e.g., differential parenting) environments are associated with these trajectories. The aim of the present study was to explore longitudinal patterns of parent-reported child anger, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and sleep problems during the pandemic, and to examine associations with the parenting environment. Data came from a longitudinal study that followed caregivers (n = 549) and two of their children (n = 1,098; aged 5-19 years) across seven waves between May 2020 and September 2022. Three-level multilevel models investigated the trajectories of child mental health symptoms, and the variance in outcomes attributed to between-family, within-family, and within-individual differences. Significant proportions of variance in child mental health were attributed to family differences, individual differences, and change over time. On average, child mental health improved over time, although these trajectories were nonlinear. Higher family-level positive parenting practices and lower family-level negative parenting practices were associated with lower child mental health problems for both siblings. Children who were disfavored (received more negativity/less positivity compared to their sibling) had higher levels of mental health problems. Both family-wide and individual-level factors play a role in child mental health during periods of stress, emphasizing the importance of considering parenting and mental health across layers of family organization. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).