Q&A: Identifying and mitigating child maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic

Amy Damashek

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have social, financial and health impacts on much of society, and these effects can be seen within individual family environments.

Pandemic-related stressors on families may be putting children at increased risk for maltreatment, according to Amy Damashek, PhD, associate professor in the department of psychology at Western Michigan University.

Healio Psychiatry spoke with Damashek about this increased risk and how clinicians can help families mitigate child maltreatment during the pandemic. – by Joe Gramigna

Question: Can you provide some background on the relationship between societal crises and child maltreatment?

Answer: Parental stress is a big risk factor for child maltreatment. When stress is increased, the risk for abuse and neglect also increases. Abuse may occur when parents become overwhelmed with stress and lash out at their children. In this state, they may lack the ability to regulate their own emotions effectively. Neglect may occur when parents become overwhelmed with stress and are less able to keep up with the responsibilities they need to complete in order to take care of their children and meet their basic needs.

During a time like the ongoing pandemic, stress may increase for a variety of reasons. Financial factors play a significant role in this increase. Some family members may have lost jobs, which might make it harder for them to provide for their children's basic needs. Poverty is a major risk factor for maltreatment, as well.

Children being at home rather than at school is another big stressor for families. Some family members may be working from home and thus have to figure out how to manage their children while working. Even if they're not working, this need for management is still there, and it puts a lot of additional supervision demands on parents that can be really challenging.

Some families rely on food that is provided by schools to feed their children, and so they might have the additional stressor of providing increased amounts of food. Another stressor is the demand to provide education for children through either keeping up with some form of online schooling or trying to figure out how to homeschool children. Further, families at greatest risk for maltreatment are less likely to have the electronic devices or internet services they need to offer this educational experience.

Lastly, a lack of social support poses another stressor. Parents may be unable to access the social support that they are used to, and isolation is another risk factor for maltreatment. For instance, parents are likely unable to have people come over and help them take care of their children so they can get a break.

Q: What can clinicians do to help mitigate child maltreatment in the era of COVID-19?

A: Clinicians can recommend that parents try to engage in self-care if they can. It can be hard for parents to find time for themselves because of the added stressors of the pandemic, so clinicians may be able to help parents devise ways to carve out time for themselves for self-care practices. They can help parents figure out how to manage having their children at home by coming up with a schedule that includes time for education, play, television or whatever schedule helps everyone in the household lower stress.

Particularly for low-resource families, it is critical to problem-solve to figure out how to access as many resources as they can. For example, many schools are providing some free meals for students, as well as access to technology via Chromebooks or other devices. Clinicians can help families figure out how to access basic needs that can improve the quality of life within the family. Further, they should emphasize to parents the importance of staying connected to other people, whether through the phone or the computer.

Q: Do you think there might be instances of child maltreatment that are not being identified during the pandemic because of social distancing and quarantining measures?

A: That's definitely a concern. One of the valuable services that school provides is additional adults with eyes on children. Teachers are often the ones who make reports to Child Protective Services, or they check in with parents to make sure everything is OK within the family. Without school and other resources for children, there may be a lot of maltreatment that is flying under the radar, which is definitely concerning.

Disclosure: Damashek reports no relevant financial disclosures.