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NEW PREPRINT @BABLab_UCLA We used qualitative and mixed-methods analysis to understand the impact that #COVID19 was having on parents and children/teens (aged 6-17 years). @KristenAChu @EmilyAnnTowner Chloe Schwartz & @NKasparian @UCLA https://psyarxiv.com/zm39b/
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Sample for this analysis (N = 56 parents; N = 43 children/teens) came from our larger #ParentingUnderPressure study (N = 324; which you will be hearing more about soon!). Analysis was preregistered: https://osf.io/ka7qf 2/14
There are over 32 million COVID-19 cases worldwide. While children are at lowest risk for contracting the virus, they may be at highest risk of suffering negative consequences from social distancing, school closure etc. 3/14
Parents are also at risk during this time, with many working and parenting from home, as well as sometimes acting as educators and entertainers for their children, and taking on caregiving duties for extended family. 4/14
We knew that the objective challenges facing families at this time were enormous, but we wanted to hear from parents and children in their OWN WORDS. How was COVID-19 affecting them? We asked them to write for 5 minutes on this topic and performed thematic analysis. 5/14
The most common themes identified from parent reports surrounded concerns about the impact of COVID-19 on their children, health concerns for others, and the stressful balancing act of parenting, schooling, and working from home. 6/14
Many parents were also using this time to reflect on their lives, and reported feelings of gratitude and happiness for their families and their opportunities. We also saw that parents who reflected on gratitude showed a decrease in negative affect after writing. 7/14
For children, the most common themes identified were missing school and social relationships at school. Some said that technology was helping to bridge the social gap, but most said it wasn't helping. 8/14
There weren't a lot of positive themes expressed by children, but those that were related to unexpected upsides (e.g., a new dog) and closer family bonds: "Through all the fighting and all the frustration, we pull together as a family and stick through this crisis" 9/14
The data were rich, so many beautiful quotes. One of my favorites: "Why can't we just bond as a human race and fight this problem together?" (16 years). And this: "It may be a bad time, but we will pull through and have the strongest bond we could ever imagine" (14 years) 10/14
Take home messages: (1) school closures were the single biggest factor having a negative impact on families. For children the impact was on their social functioning. For parents, it meant an unreasonable caregiving burden. 11/14
(2) While no amount of gratitude will undo the systemic inequalities highlighted and intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic, the practice may have at least a temporary positive impact on parent mental wellbeing and should be examined in future studies. 12/14
(3) Although the families in this study were relatively privileged (income, education), they were still struggling. The burdens for less advantaged families are much higher. Interventions are desired and warranted. 13/14
This paper is a lot of firsts: First preprint, first empirical paper from the @BABLab_UCLA, first foray into studying the effects of COVID-19, first time using qualitative analysis, @KristenAChu first first-author pub. Thank you for taking the time to read our work! 
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