How is the COVID-19 lockdown impacting the mental health of parents of school-age children in the UK? A cross-sectional online survey

El-Osta, Austen; Alaa, Aos; Webber, Iman; Riboli Sasco, Eva; Bagkeris, Emmanouil; Millar, Helen; Vidal-Hall, Charlotte; Majeed, Azeem

OBJECTIVE: Investigate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on feelings of loneliness and social isolation in parents of school-age children. DESIGN: Cross-sectional online survey of parents of primary and secondary school-age children. SETTING: Community setting. PARTICIPANTS: 1214 parents of school-age children in the UK. METHODS: An online survey explored the impact of lockdown on the mental health of parents with school-age children, and in particular about feelings of social isolation and loneliness. Associations between the UCLA Three-Item Loneliness Scale (UCLATILS), the Direct Measure of Loneliness (DMOL) and the characteristics of the study participants were assessed using ordinal logistic regression models. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported measures of social isolation and loneliness using UCLATILS and DMOL. RESULTS: Half of respondents felt they lacked companionship, 45% had feelings of being left out, 58% felt isolated and 46% felt lonely during the first 100 days of lockdown. The factors that were associated with higher levels of loneliness on UCLATILS were female gender, parenting a child with special needs, lack of a dedicated space for distance learning, disruption of sleep patterns and low levels of physical activity during the lockdown. Factors associated with a higher DMOL were female gender, single parenting, parenting a child with special needs, unemployment, low physical activity, lack of a dedicated study space and disruption of sleep patterns during the lockdown. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 lockdown has increased feelings of social isolation and loneliness among parents of school-age children. The sustained adoption of two modifiable health-seeking lifestyle behaviours (increased levels of physical activity and the maintenance of good sleep hygiene practices) wmay help reduce feelings of social isolation and loneliness during lockdown.