{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,10]],"date-time":"2026-09-10T03:23:15Z","timestamp":1789010595865,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":47,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,17]],"date-time":"2023-10-17T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1697500800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003250","name":"Canadian Mental Health Association","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003250","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:sec id=\"sec001\">\n<jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic have not been felt equally within populations. Parents with children living at home were early on identified as a population at heightened mental health risk, with concerns about the potential long-term impacts of the pandemic on parents\u2019 mental health, family functioning, and children\u2019s well-being. This study investigates impacts of the pandemic on parents\u2019 psychological distress, contextual sources of distress, and associations with family functioning nearly two years into the pandemic.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec002\">\n<jats:title>Methods and findings<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>Data were drawn from a national cross-sectional survey of adults living in Canada in November and December 2021 that was representative by age, gender, household income, and region. Parents with children &lt; 18 years old living at home (N = 553) reported their experiences of psychological distress, pandemic-related stressors, coping mechanisms, and family functioning (changes in parent-child interactions, children\u2019s anxiety). Chi-square tests, logistic regression, and linear regression analyses examined sociodemographic inequities in parents\u2019 levels of psychological distress, sources and mitigating mechanisms of distress, and associations between psychological distress and family functioning. Nearly two years into the pandemic, parents with children at home reported nearly double pre-pandemic population estimates of moderate to severe psychological distress. Psychological distress was more frequently reported among parents with pre-existing mental health conditions, disabilities, and financial stressors. Parents with greater psychological distress reported increases in negative parent\u2013child interactions due to the pandemic and higher anxiety among their children.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>\n<jats:sec id=\"sec003\">\n<jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n<jats:p>This study identifies sustained negative impacts of the pandemic on parents\u2019 mental health and family functioning in Canada nearly two years into the pandemic, despite high vaccine uptake and declining infection rates. Disparities in financial stress, social support structures, and pre-existing mental health were identified as underlying sources of psychological distress. These results highlight that meaningful responses to promote mental health among parents and families must address social and structural inequities.<\/jats:p>\n<\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0292670","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,17]],"date-time":"2023-10-17T17:26:00Z","timestamp":1697563560000},"page":"e0292670","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":30,"title":["Parent psychological distress and parent-child relationships two years into the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from a Canadian cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"18","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4508-2463","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Kimberly C.","family":"Thomson","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emily","family":"Jenkins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Randip","family":"Gill","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Katherine G.","family":"Hastings","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Chris G.","family":"Richardson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Monique","family":"Gagn\u00e9 Petteni","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7868-564X","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Corey","family":"McAuliffe","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anne M.","family":"Gadermann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,10,17]]},"reference":[{"issue":"0123456789","key":"pone.0292670.ref001","article-title":"Child, parent, and family mental health and functioning in Australia during COVID-19: comparison to pre-pandemic data.","author":"EM Westrupp","year":"2021","journal-title":"Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry."},{"key":"pone.0292670.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e042871","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2020-042871","article-title":"Examining the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on family mental health in Canada: Findings from a national cross- sectional study","volume":"11","author":"AM Gadermann","year":"2021","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0292670.ref003","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"631","DOI":"10.1037\/amp0000660","article-title":"Risk and resilience in family well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.","volume":"75","author":"H Prime","year":"2020","journal-title":"Am Psychol."},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0292670.ref004","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e2020016824","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2020-016824","article-title":"Well-being of Parents and Children During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A National Survey","volume":"146","author":"SW Patrick","year":"2020","journal-title":"Pediatrics"},{"issue":"10","key":"pone.0292670.ref005","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"883","DOI":"10.1016\/S2215-0366(20)30308-4","article-title":"Mental health before and during the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal probability sample survey of the UK population","volume":"7","author":"M Pierce","year":"2020","journal-title":"The Lancet Psychiatry"},{"issue":"8","key":"pone.0292670.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"657","DOI":"10.1016\/S2215-0366(20)30240-6","article-title":"Addressing the public mental health challenge of COVID-19","volume":"7","author":"J Campion","year":"2020","journal-title":"The Lancet Psychiatry"},{"issue":"April","key":"pone.0292670.ref007","first-page":"1","article-title":"Parents Are Stressed! 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Parental stress and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany","author":"J Li","year":"2021","journal-title":"J Fam Res."},{"issue":"10","key":"pone.0292670.ref011","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1597","DOI":"10.1037\/dev0001217","article-title":"Changes in Family Chaos and Family Relationships During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Evidence From a Longitudinal Study.","volume":"57","author":"JR Cassinat","year":"2021","journal-title":"Dev Psychol."},{"issue":"4","key":"pone.0292670.ref012","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e2020007294","DOI":"10.1542\/peds.2020-007294","article-title":"COVID-19 and parent-child psychological well-being","volume":"146","author":"A Gassman-Pines","year":"2020","journal-title":"Pediatrics"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0292670.ref013","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"361","DOI":"10.1111\/famp.12649","article-title":"Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Parent, Child, and Family Functioning.","volume":"61","author":"A. 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