62 - Household routines among “Bronx Mother Baby Health Study” families during the COVID-19 pandemic: Association with parental stress and resilience.

Poster Number: 62
Publication Number: 62.202

Mana Mann, Pediatrics, Bronx, NY, United States; David M. Harary, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States; Tao Wang, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States; Karen Bonuck, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States; Carmen R. Isasi, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, New York, NY, United States; Maureen J. Charron, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Bronx, NY, United States; Mamta Fuloria, The Children's Hospital at Montefiore, Bronx, NY, United States

Background: Disruptions related to COVID-19 have affected children, families, and communities.  Few studies have examined effects of stress/resilience on household routines among parents of very young children from underrepresented backgrounds during the pandemic.

Objective: Among children birth to two years of age and their mothers enrolled in the “Bronx Mother Baby Health Study,” an ongoing longitudinal study of healthy term infants that examines the epigenetic pathogenesis of early childhood obesity in the Bronx, NY, we (1) examined associations between COVID-19 exposures, demographic factors and parental stress and resilience; and (2) correlated these factors with household routines.

Design/Methods: After the COVID-19 pandemic began in March 2020, Bronx Mother Baby Health Study participants completed questionnaires related to: COVID-19 exposures; household routines; food and housing insecurity, and parental psychological distress and resilience (Table 1).  COVID-19 exposures, parental psychological distress and resilience were completed at birth (for new enrollees), and at 6, 12, and 24- months of age.  In cases where participants completed COVID-19 exposures at multiple timepoints, the earliest responses were used for analysis.  Parents reported on the frequency of household routines at 6, 12, and 24-months of age. Using R package, Chi-square test or Fisher’s exact tests were used to assess associations between categorical variables and ANOVA for continuous variables.  

Results: 105 mothers and children aged birth-25 months of age who provided information on COVID-19 exposures from June 2020-August 2021 were included.  35.2% experienced elevated COVID-19 exposures, 52.4% were White and 31.4% Black, 73.3% were of Hispanic ethnicity, and over 87% had at least a high school level education.  30.4% and 48.4% of participants endorsed food and housing insecurity, respectively.  Higher parent psychological distress was significantly associated with higher COVID-19 exposures and food and housing insecurity.  Resilience was associated with food and housing security (Table 2).  Household routines were associated with demographic factors, but not with COVID-19 exposures.  Lower psychological distress was associated with storytelling> 3 times a week (14.3+5.3 vs 17.3+7.5; p=0.06).Conclusion(s): This study adds to mounting evidence of COVID-19’s adverse social and emotional impacts upon vulnerable parents in the first years of life. Findings suggest the need for identifying and responding to these support needs.
Table 1. Measures used in Bronx Mother Baby Health Study
Table 2 . Study characteristics and parental psychological distress and resilience scores of participants in Bronx Mother Baby Health Study.