Contemporary parenting and its association with parents’ well-being in the face of COVID-19: The mediating role of guilt.

Abstract

This study examines the association between the contemporary role of parenting and the well-being of its agent-the parent. In particular, I focus on parental feelings of guilt as a mechanism underlying the association between parenting styles and difficulties to adjust to changing circumstances, in the face of COVID-19. The sample was recruited through social networks and included 382 Israeli parents, mostly educated mothers (ages 23-57, average education 16.4 years) who reported being the primary caregiver in a committed relationship. All participants filled out online self-report questionnaires that addressed their parenting style, parental guilt feelings, and difficulties to adjust in the face of COVID-19. The analysis of these questionnaires indicated a significant direct association between hostile/coercive parenting and adjustment difficulties, and an indirect significant association between engaged/supportive parenting and adjustment difficulties through parental guilt feelings. These findings are discussed in light of the Conservation of Resources Theory and in light of parental contemporary social imperatives. Public Policy Relevance Statement Social imperatives that shape contemporary parenting force parents to attempt to be the "perfect" parents by intensively meeting their children's needs. This study emphasizes the toll that such parenting takes on its agents-the parents-as it can provoke feelings of guilt that are associated with poor well-being.