Beyond the Mask: Decoding Children’s Mental Health Patterns Amidst COVID-19 and the Role of Parenting

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a substantial impact on children and families worldwide. Children’s mental health has been at the forefront of pandemic research, with several observational studies documenting its decline. Limited person-centred research exists, however, investigating the diverse mental health responses of vulnerable children during COVID-19.

The purpose of this study is to examine the profiles of 289 low-income children’s mental health transitions from pre-COVID-19 to during COVID-19.

Mothers’ reports of children’s mental health using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire from before ( \(\overline{X }\) $\overline{X}$ = 2.73 years, SD = 0.23) and during ( \(\overline{X }\) $\overline{X}$ = 5.31 years, SD = 0.59) COVID-19 were used.

Three comparable profile solutions were identified pre- and early during the pandemic. Latent transition analysis revealed diverse patterns of children’s mental health trajectory from prior to during COVID-19. Based on transition probabilities, the majority of children in the Average Levels of Internalizing/Externalizing Problems and Externalizing Problems profiles pre-pandemic showed stability in profile membership. Interestingly, most children in the high levels of Internalizing/Externalizing Problems profile pre-pandemic experienced some improvement in their mental health. Pre-pandemic maternal mental health and parenting had significant associations with children’s profile membership at both time points.

Our findings reveal the heterogeneity in children's mental health responses in times of large-scale crises. They also identify how pre-existing maternal risk factors may underlie the diverse experiences of children who underwent declining, stable, or improving mental health profiles during the COVID-19 pandemic.