Introduction: Parents of children with T1D experience substantial caregiving distress, and child behavior problems are common among children with T1D. Stressors associated with the COVID-19 pandemic may disrupt T1D management and/or parent psychological functioning. This study examined the associations among pediatric parenting stress, child behavior, and diabetes- and COVID-19-specific psychosocial experiences among parents of children with T1D during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: Participants were 100 parents of young children with T1D (M age=6.7±1.6; M T1D duration=2.9±.5 years), who had completed participation in a multi-site behavioral intervention trial. In June/July 2020 (≥6 months after trial completion), parents self-reported on demographics, pediatric parenting stress (Pediatric Inventory for Parents; PIP), child behavior (Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory; ECBI), and a newly developed questionnaire measuring negative/positive impact of COVID-19 on T1D management and parent mood related to COVID-19.
Results: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were significantly lower ECBI scores for married versus non-married participants (t=2.53, p<.05). PIP was positively correlated with ECBI (r=.35, p<.01) and negative COVID-related T1D management (r=.42, p<.01), but negative COVID-related T1D management was not associated with ECBI. Worse COVID-19-specific parent mood was associated with PIP (r=.63, p<.01) and ECBI (r=.28, p<.01). Positive COVID-related T1D management was unrelated to PIP or ECBI.
Conclusion: Given the increased demands of managing home, school, work and adhering to social distancing measures while managing a chronic illness, parents of children with T1D are particularly vulnerable during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinically, findings highlight the importance of assessing parent psychosocial functioning, child behavior, and challenges to children’s T1D management.
K. Rooney: None. C. H. Wang: None. M. E. Hilliard: None. R. Streisand: None. C. Danko: None.
