Examining the Impact of COVID-19 on Parental Stress: A Study of Foster Parents
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Examining the Impact of COVID‑19 on Parental Stress: A Study of Foster Parents J. Jay Miller1 · Morgan E. Cooley2 · Brittany P. Mihalec‑Adkins3 Accepted: 4 November 2020 © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2020
Abstract Purpose The overarching purpose of this exploratory study was to understand how foster parents’ parenting-related stress levels have changed over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, including the role of sociodemographic characteristics in exacerbating risk for increased stress. Method Participants were electronically surveyed about their pre- and post-pandemic parenting-related stress, using an adapted version of the parenting stress scale. Results Nine-hundred and ninety foster parents (N = 990) participated in the study. Overall, foster parents reported significant increases along three specific domains of stress—namely, parenting stress, lack of control, and parental satisfaction (reversescored). Analyses for group differences on the post-only scores indicated that foster parents who are not married, or who report poorer mental health (i.e., “good”, versus “very good” or “excellent”) or financial circumstances (i.e., as indicated by not reliably having more income than expenses) may face increased risk for exacerbated stress during this pandemic. Discussion Findings from this study indicate that parental stress-levels among foster parents have increased since the start of COVID-19. These findings are not only troubling for foster caregivers, but may also have implications for the youth in their care. Ultimately, results from this study indicate the need to better support foster parents, in general, and during public health crises, specifically. Keywords Foster parents · Covid-19 · Coronavirus · Pandemic · Stress · Parental stress
Introduction COVID-19 poses unique stressors to families, as well as cumulative risks that include social, economic, and healthrelated stressors (Prime et al., 2020). Findings from a rapidly evolving literature suggest that mental well-being is likely to be worse in those considered to be frontline workers, those with physical or mental health vulnerabilities, those who have direct experience with or proximity to someone with COVID-19, and children and parents (Nobles et al., 2020). There is evidence that the effects of social distancing may * J. Jay Miller [email protected] 1
Self‑Care Lab, College of Social Work, University of Kentucky, Lexington, USA
2
Phyllis and Harvey Sandler School of Social Work, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, USA
3
Department of Human Development & Family Studies, Purdue University, West Lafayette, USA
have a more prominent impact on vulnerable groups of children and families, such as those with disabilities, underlying medical issues, or other types of social risk factors— including children in foster care or at risk of maltreatment (Dickinson & Yates, 2020; Wong et al., 2020). In addition, there has been an increased reliance on women and families to provide extensive unpaid ca
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