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Distress Levels of Parents of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison between Italy and Australia

Author

Listed:
  • Dayle Burnett

    (Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, Uppsala University, 752 36 Uppsala, Sweden)

  • Anne Masi

    (School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Kensington 2052, Australia)

  • Antonio Mendoza Diaz

    (School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Kensington 2052, Australia
    Academic Unit of Child Psychiatry, South Western Sydney Local Health District & Ingham Institute, Sydney 2170, Australia)

  • Renata Rizzo

    (Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Catania, 95124 Catania, Italy)

  • Ping-I Lin

    (School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Kensington 2052, Australia
    Mental Health Research Unit, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Liverpool 2170, Australia)

  • Valsamma Eapen

    (School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Kensington 2052, Australia
    Academic Unit of Child Psychiatry, South Western Sydney Local Health District & Ingham Institute, Sydney 2170, Australia)

Abstract

Parents of children with a neurodevelopmental disorder (NDD) report higher levels of distress compared to those of typically developing children. Distress levels may be heightened by the restrictions associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it is unclear whether distress levels of parents varied by the diagnosis of neurodevelopmental disorder in children during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to investigate whether parental distress was influenced by the type of NDD. Participants were from Australia ( N = 196) and Italy ( N = 200); the parents of children aged 3–18 were invited to complete an online self-reported survey which included the 6-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K6) to determine parental distress. The results show that intellectual or learning disorder (ILD) is a major contributor to parental distress compared to other NDDs in both Australia and Italy. Moreover, the worsening of symptomatic changes in children with NDDs was significantly associated with parental distress. The differences between the two countries in terms of the pandemic impact, however, were not statistically significant. The results suggest that intervention strategies need to be tailored for individual clinical information and factor in the society’s stringency level of anti-contagion policies to improve parental wellbeing.

Suggested Citation

  • Dayle Burnett & Anne Masi & Antonio Mendoza Diaz & Renata Rizzo & Ping-I Lin & Valsamma Eapen, 2021. "Distress Levels of Parents of Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparison between Italy and Australia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(21), pages 1-12, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:21:p:11066-:d:661493
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sui-Qing Chen & Shu-Dan Chen & Xing-Kai Li & Jie Ren, 2020. "Mental Health of Parents of Special Needs Children in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(24), pages 1-14, December.
    2. Boris A. Portnov & Jonathan Dubnov & Micha Barchana, 2006. "On Ecological Fallacy and Assessment Errors Stemming From Misguided Variable Selection: Investigating the Effect of Data Aggregation on the Outcome of Epidemiological Study," ERSA conference papers ersa06p18, European Regional Science Association.
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    Cited by:

    1. Verena Barbieri & Christian Josef Wiedermann & Anne Kaman & Michael Erhart & Giuliano Piccoliori & Barbara Plagg & Angelika Mahlknecht & Dietmar Ausserhofer & Adolf Engl & Ulrike Ravens-Sieberer, 2022. "Quality of Life and Mental Health in Children and Adolescents after the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Large Population-Based Survey in South Tyrol, Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-18, April.

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