From parental issues of job and finance to child well-being and maltreatment: A systematic review of the pandemic-related spillover effect

Peggy Pui Lai Or; Yuan Fang; Fenghua Sun; Eric Tsz Chun Poon; Carmen Ka Man Chan; Louisa Ming Yan Chung

doi:10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106041

From parental issues of job and finance to child well-being and maltreatment: A systematic review of the pandemic-related spillover effect

Child Abuse Negl. 2023 Mar:137:106041. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2023.106041. Epub 2023 Jan 20.

Authors

Peggy Pui Lai Or¹, Yuan Fang², Fenghua Sun³, Eric Tsz Chun Poon⁴, Carmen Ka Man Chan⁵, Louisa Ming Yan Chung⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health and Physical Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Electronic address: peggyor@eduhk.hk.
² Department of Health and Physical Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Electronic address: lunajoef@gmail.com.
³ Department of Health and Physical Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Electronic address: fhsun@eduhk.hk.
⁴ Department of Health and Physical Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Electronic address: ericpoon@eduhk.hk.
⁵ Department of Health and Physical Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Electronic address: kamanchan@eduhk.hk.
⁶ Department of Health and Physical Education, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. Electronic address: chungmy@eduhk.hk.

Abstract

Background: Covid-19 pandemic jeopardized family well-being at the population level internationally. Pandemic-related job/financial difficulties in parents have a spillover effect on their child's well-being and issues of child maltreatment.

Objective: The current review sought to systematically summarize and analyze this pandemic-related spillover effect.

Participants and settings: In the home setting, participants involved 11,100 adolescents, 9144 parents/caregivers, and another 7927 parent-children dyads.

Methods: An extensive literature search in 13 electronic databases was conducted. A total 21 eligible papers published from 2020 to 2022 were included for further thematic analysis.

Results: A significant positive relationship between the pandemic-related spillover effect from parental job or financial issues to child maltreatment and child's mental/behavioral issues was established. The internal mechanisms demonstrated that this relationship was intermediated or moderated by the interactions of parental mental health issues, parenting practice, and family relationships. Families with particular factors may be more vulnerable and sensitive to the spillover effect during the pandemic. The work-from-home arrangement was found as positively related to enhanced parenting warmth and parent-child relationship in some cases who had relatively high familial social-economic status.

Conclusions: Findings of current review provided the evidences from empirical data. During the Covid-19 pandemic, spillover effect from parental job/financial issues significantly influenced the child well-being and family functioning. Future efforts for intervention/service design should be made to enhance familial protective factors and support those families with vulnerable factors.

Keywords: Child maltreatment/abuse; Covid-19; Job/financial issues; Mediate/moderate; Spillover effect; child's well-being.

Publication types

Systematic Review

MeSH terms

Adolescent
COVID-19*
Child
Child Abuse* / psychology
Child Health
Humans
Pandemics
Parenting / psychology
Parents / psychology