Maternal Psychological Distress and Children’s Internalizing/Externalizing Problems during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Moderating Role Played by Hypermentalization

Federica Bianco, Annalisa Levante, Serena Petrocchi, Flavia Lecciso and Ilaria Castelli
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Federica Bianco: Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo 24129, Italy
Annalisa Levante: Department of History, Society, and Human Studies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Serena Petrocchi: Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Università della Svizzera italiana, Via Buffi 13, Lugano 6900, Switzerland
Flavia Lecciso: Department of History, Society, and Human Studies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Ilaria Castelli: Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, Bergamo 24129, Italy

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 19, 1-15

Abstract: In order to explore the psychological impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on the caregiver–child relationship, we investigated the interplay among COVID-19 exposure and children’s internalizing/externalizing problems during the Italian lockdown, hypothesizing a mediation effect played by maternal distress. Additionally, we included maternal reflective functioning (i.e., hypermentalization) as a moderator factor among this interplay. A total of 305 Italian mothers of children aged 6–13 years ( M = 10.3; SD = 2.4) filled in an online survey. Findings revealed an indirect effect of maternal COVID-19 exposure on children’s anxious/depressed ( k 2 = 0.46) and attention problems ( k 2 = 0.32) via maternal distress. Hypermentalization moderated the impact of maternal COVID-19 exposure on children’s anxious/depressed problems (? = ?1.08, p = 0.04). Hypermentalization moderated both the relation between maternal distress and children’s aggressive behaviors (? = 12.226; p < 0.001) and between maternal distress and children’s attention problems (? = 5.617, p < 0.001). We found pivotal significant effects of maternal hypermentalization on children’s anxious/depressed and attention problems, indicating that the higher the mother’s hypermentalization was, the higher the children’s problems were. Our results broaden what we knew on the role of maternal reflective and emotional functioning on children’s emotional/behavioral adjustment during stressful situations.

Keywords: COVID-19; reflective functioning; children’s internalizing problems; children’s externalizing problems; maternal psychological distress (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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