"Wont someone please think of the parents!" - a multilevel examination of family stress during COVID-19
Abstract
There is growing evidence for the putative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on child and caregiver mental health. Most of this rapid-response research has been cross-sectional and focused on one-child-per-family. While informative, this methodology is not able to isolate the (a) direction of effects amongst contextual stressors, children, and caregivers, and (b) processes that are operative for entire families versus specific children. It is important to understand these nuances to best inform our public health disaster response, particularly in the arena of child and family mental health intervention planning. Are whole families feeling the stress of the pandemic, or are certain individuals and family subsystems most implicated? This colloquium will explore these questions using an ongoing international cohort of over 1000 children in 500 families, specially mobilized to explore family stress during the pandemic. Emphasis will be placed on “child-effects”, or the way in which COVID-19 related deterioration in children’s mental health may influence caregivers and the family system. Implications for intervention and policy will be discussed.
Registration link: https://ticketfi.com/event/4273/wont-someone-please-think-of-the-parents
Speaker
Dillon Browne
Dillon
Browne's program
of
research
examines
the
influence
of
Adverse
Childhood
Experiences
(ACEs),
trauma,
and
socioeconomic
status
on
human
development.
Dillon
considers
development
in
a
variety
of
domains,
including
cognition,
academic
achievement,
socioemotional
functioning,
behaviour,
and
mental
health.
The
second
arm
of
Dillon’s
research
program
concerns
the
development,
evaluation,
and
implementation
of
evidence-based
interventions
for
children
and
whole
families
who
are
struggling
with
mental
health
and
developmental
challenges,
particularly
in
settings
of
trauma
and
adversity.
Dillon
is
committed
to
developing
partnerships
with
community
service
providers
and
making
sure
my
research
aims
are
embedded
in
the
contexts
in
which
families
seek
treatment.