How the COVID-19 Pandemic Influenced Veteran Parents’ Harsh Parenting: Do Parental PTSD and Parental Role Matter?

Xiafei Wang, Choyang L. Sherpa, Lisette R. Piera-Tyree, Brooks B. Gump, Kenneth J. Marfilius, Jennifer C. Genovese, Carrie J. Smith, Jacqueline Allen

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Prior studies show a heightened risk of child maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic because of financial difficulties and parenting stress, but little is known about what happened to the veteran families. This study aimed to examine the influences of the COVID-19 pandemic on veteran parents’ harsh parenting – creating a potential for child maltreatment. Further, we explored the potential moderating effects of parental PTSD and parental role on the association between COVID-19 impacts and veteran harsh parenting. We recruited 509 veteran parents from Qualtrics online research panel and assessed the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., perceived threat, financial and psychological impacts) on the participants, parental PTSD, and parents’ past year prevalence of corporal punishment and psychological aggression. We used Mplus 8.8 to build main models, two-way moderation models, and three-way moderation models. There was a significant association between COVID-19 pandemic impacts and harsh parenting (Corporal punishment: β = 0.09, p < 0.05; Psychological aggression: β = 0.10, p < 0.05), while parental PTSD was a significant moderator (Corporal punishment: β = 0.10, p < 0.05; Psychological aggression: β = 0.08, p < 0.05). Parents with higher levels of PTSD were more vulnerable to the negative influences of COVID-19 on their harsh parenting. However, the association between COVID-19 pandemic impacts and harsh parenting did not differ by parental role. Our study findings contribute to the current knowledge of veteran families during the COVID-19 pandemic and provide implications for both Veteran Affairs services and child protective services.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)3081-3092
Number of pages12
JournalJournal of Child and Family Studies
Volume33
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2024

Keywords

  • Harsh parenting
  • Parental role
  • PTSD
  • The COVID-19 pandemic
  • Veteran parents

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Developmental and Educational Psychology
  • Life-span and Life-course Studies

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