Hicks, Ashlea Shae (2022) Parental Stress and Children Learning at Home During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Honours thesis, University of Southern Queensland. (Unpublished)
Abstract
Balancing the demands of managing COVID-19 restrictions and everyday parenting and personal responsibilities may intensify parental stress. As experiencing elevated stress may negatively impact the risk of experiencing psychological illness, this study explores the relationship between parental stress and disruptions to children’s schooling that required mandatory home learning during COVID-19 restrictions in Australia. Variables potentially affecting this relationship, including child age and parental employment status, were investigated, and the relationship between parental worry about helping with schoolwork and stress was explored. A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 389 parents of children aged 5 to 17 years between May 2020 and May 2021 when various levels of social restrictions were in place throughout Australia. Parental stress levels were measured using the stress subscale of the DASS-21. Disruptions to school attendance due to COVID-19 restrictions and parental worry were measured with single-item questions. Results demonstrated that parents with a child learning remotely, and particularly those worried about helping with schoolwork, experienced elevated stress. However, neither parental employment status or child age modified the relationship between elevated stress and remote learning. As home learning may be implemented during future crises, curriculum policy focusing on reducing parental responsibility and education policy focusing on providing parents with stress-reducing tools may mitigate this risk. Decreasing stress in parents during crises may reduce the risk of negative parenting behaviours and parental mental and physical illness, enhancing opportunities for families to thrive in such circumstances.
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| Item Type: | Thesis (Non-Research) (Honours) |
|---|---|
| Item Status: | Live Archive |
| Additional Information: | Current UniSQ staff and students can request access to this thesis. Please email research.repository@unisq.edu.au with a subject line of SEAR thesis request and provide: Name of the thesis requested and Your name and UniSQ email address |
| Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: | Current – Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Psychology and Wellbeing (1 Jan 2022 -) |
| Supervisors: | Kirsty Zieschank |
| Qualification: | Bachelor of Science (Honours) |
| Date Deposited: | 30 May 2025 01:46 |
| Last Modified: | 30 May 2025 01:46 |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | parent; stress; learning at home; employment; worry; child age |
| Fields of Research (2008): | 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 1799 Other Psychology and Cognitive Sciences > 179999 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences not elsewhere classified |
| Fields of Research (2020): | 52 PSYCHOLOGY > 5299 Other psychology > 529999 Other psychology not elsewhere classified |
| URI: | https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/52410 |
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