Child and caregiver mental health during COVID-19

Price, A.; Measey, M.-A.; Hoq, M.; Rhodes, A.; Goldfeld, S.

There are urgent calls for research into the mental health consequences of living through the COVID-19 pandemic. We describe caregiver and child mental health over 12 months using Australia's only nationally representative, repeated cross-sectional survey of caregivers with children (0-17 years). N=2020 caregivers in June 2020, N=1434 in September 2020, and N=2508 in July 2021 provided data. Caregivers rated their mental health (Kessler-6), and impacts of the pandemic on their own and their children's mental health. Data were weighted using national distribution of age, gender, number of children, state/territory and neighbourhood-level disadvantage. Mental health measures worsened over time. There was an unequal distribution of impacts based on caregiver gender, child age and family socioeconomic characteristics. Negative impacts were more common with current or cumulative lockdown. The indirect impacts of COVID-19 are real and concerning. Mental health must be central to the immediate and ongoing pandemic responses for families and children.