1.76 A Qualitative Study of the Changes in the Stress and Coping Experience of Parents of Children Treated in a Mental Health Outpatient Clinic During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objectives

Using a qualitative grounded theory approach, this study explores the experiences and coping strategies of parents of children with mental health conditions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods

Parents of children aged 4 to 18 years (M = 13.30; SD = 3.43) receiving outpatient mental health treatment at a pediatric tertiary care center were eligible to participate. Participants were identified through their child’s electronic medical record and contacted for participation. We conducted 2 semi-structured interviews. The first interviews were done in May and June 2020, starting 3 months after the declaration of emergency in Ontario. The second interviews were conducted in March 2021, one year after the declaration. Interview 1 consisted of 15 participants, and Interview 2 consisted of 11 participants. The initial interview used 14 questions that explored parenting experiences, specifically as they related to information gathering, sources of support, family functioning and routines, sources of stress, and coping strategies during the pandemic. The follow-up interview served as a member check, summarizing the main topic of discussion from the initial interview, in addition to questions related to changes in thoughts and feelings toward the pandemic, views on the vaccine, and whether any positives have come from the COVID-19 pandemic. A grounded theory methodology using open, axial, and selective coding was used to code the interview transcripts.

Results

Several themes emerged from the analysis of the interviews. These themes included: 1) main stressors regarding the pandemic, specifically as they related to health anxiety, restrictions, schooling from home, and family functioning; 2) financial considerations included a lack of financial impact, costs associated with food insecurity and paying for therapy for their children; 3) child coping or impacts manifesting as a disruption of routines, social lives, children’s understanding of COVID-19, and resource access; and (4) parental coping style. The interconnections of themes were explored.

Conclusions

This research highlights how the disruption in children’s daily structure and routines, worry, and anxiety around COVID-19, and demands related to children's online schooling at home, as well as financial uncertainties, contribute to a deterioration in family coping and functioning.

FAM, COPI, SII