Caregiver and Child Mental Health During 3 Years of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdowns (stay-at-home orders) had significant mental health consequences in 2020 to 2021 for caregivers and children. Little is known about “postlockdown” periods in 2022 to 2023. We investigated the mental health experiences of Australian families throughout the 3 years of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020–2023), by demographic characteristics and lockdown length. METHODS A total N = 12 408 caregivers (N = 20 339 children, aged 0–17 years) completed Australia’s only representative, repeated, cross-sectional, National Child Health Poll across 6 waves (June 2020–April 2023). Caregivers reported mental health for themselves (Kessler-6, poor versus not) and each child (self-rated mental health, poor/fair versus good/very good/excellent), and perceived impacts of the pandemic on own/child mental health (negative versus none/positive). Binary logistic models were fitted to predict marginal probabilities of each mental health measure by state/territory group (proxy for lockdown length), over time, adjusted for potential demographic confounders. RESULTS Poor caregiver Kessler-6 was similar between genders but more common for sole caregivers, and those with a home language other than English and lower education. Poor/fair child self-rated mental health was similar between genders and increased with child age. Perceived negative impacts were more common for females and socially advantaged caregivers. Overall, negative mental health experiences increased with lockdown length, peaking with the height of lockdown in July 2021, before declining. CONCLUSIONS Negative mental health experiences of Australian caregivers and children decreased during postlockdown periods of 2022–2023; however, social gradients persisted. These data can inform more precise mental health policies that enable better use of limited mental health infrastructure.