Contextual variables associated with stress and well-being in early childhood households during the COVID-19 pandemic: Implications for science, policy, and practice

Background: As the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) unfolded across the US in the spring of 2020, many families with young children experienced uniquely challenging circumstances In addition to concerns about the health and well-being of themselves and their children, many parents and caregivers faced changes in employment status, loss of income, and sudden changes in childcare availability Interrelated challenges occurred in safety net programs, including rapid increases in the numbers eligible for such programs (especially related to income loss), lack of access to face-to-face delivery of services in critical areas such as childcare and child protection, and the need for new services such as emergency childcare for workers in essential jobs Alongside these distressing developments, social distancing introduced further practical and mental health challenges, for which there was no precedent to inform best practices Methods: This presentation will describe a rapid response project initiated in April 2020 involving weekly nationally representative surveys of households with children under 5 The primary purpose of the surveys was to gather actionable science-based, data-driven information to inform federal and state policy about the best ways manage the situation in order to buffer children from long-term toxic stress effects, and to support parents and other caregivers Results: We will present results of analyses using longitudinal interrupted time-series analyses of the weekly survey data to document trends in child, family, and relational well-being across time, and predictors of specific outcomes including parent and child mental health Conclusions: We will also discuss impacts of the project on policy