Parents of children aged <18 years and unpaid caregivers of adults have had mental health challenges before. But COVID-19 pandemic has made it worse for them. Among 10,444 U.S. adults surveyed during December 2020 and February –March 2021, parents, unpaid caregivers of adults, and parents-caregivers (persons in both roles) had significantly worse mental health than adults not in these roles, including five times the odds of any adverse mental health symptoms (parents-caregivers). Persons who had someone to rely on for support had lower odds of experiencing mental health symptoms. Managing mental health might be especially challenging for parents balancing employment and remote education; virtual instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic has presented risks for mental health both among children and parents. Anxiety/Depression and severe suicidal ideations were 1.4 and 1.5 times higher in the parents-only group but jumped up to 3.7 and 8.2 times for parent-caregivers. These results suggest that parents and caregivers might benefit from tailored mental health services. For caregivers, especially persons with dual parenting responsibilities while also caring for adults, increasing access to, awareness of, and use of support groups and respite services might help alleviate the caregiving workload.
Warning: Being a parent or an unpaid caregiver during COVID Pandemic can be harmful to your health