Pandemic-related Family Finances Impact on Children’s Mental Health

A new nationwide cohort study published in JAMA Network Open has found a link between the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on family finances and children’s mental health. The study is the first of its kind to measure child mental health outcomes during the pandemic.

Researchers used data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study to examine data from 6,030 children between the ages of 12 and 14 years. They measured perceived stress, sadness, well-being, and COVID-19-related worry, as well as three outcomes related to sleep. Data was collected five times between May and December 2020, and data analysis was conducted from May 2021 to January 2023.

The researchers found that the impact of COVID-19 policies on child mental health was primarily through family financial disruption, which worsened children’s levels of stress, sadness, and worries related to COVID-19. Children with family financial disruptions experienced on average a 205.2% increase in perceived stress, 112.1% increase in sadness, 32.9% decrease in well-being (positive affect), and a 73.9 percentage-point increase in moderate-to-extreme COVID-19–related worry. Contrary to the researchers’ hypothesis, no similar impact was seen from school closures.

Families play an important role in child mental health, and family resilience was more critical during the pandemic. Heightened psychological distress may have spillover impacts on learning loss, quality of relationships with family and friends, and mental illness. Therefore, addressing family financial stress may reduce the negative impact on child development in the future recovery from long COVID-19. 

The study calls for doctors to look at financial disruptions when supporting child mental health, and for policy makers to consider the economic impact of pandemic containment measures on families in order to protect child mental health and well-being.