Table 2 Parent–child relationship, and children’s internalizing and externalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 epidemic in Wuhan and Shanghai, n (%).
Total sample (n = 1655) | Wuhan (n = 816) | Shanghai (n = 839) | p value* | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Panel A: Parent–child relationship indicators | ||||
Frequency of children actively asking about the epidemic | < 0.001 | |||
Always | 303 (18.3) | 145 (17.8) | 158 (18.8) | |
Usual | 565 (34.1) | 269 (33.0) | 296 (35.3) | |
Sometimes | 469 (28.3) | 212 (26.0) | 257 (30.6) | |
Rare | 222 (13.4) | 142 (17.4) | 80 (9.5) | |
Never | 96 (5.8) | 48 (5.9) | 48 (5.7) | |
Frequency of parent explaining the epidemic to children | < 0.001 | |||
Always | 566 (34.2) | 262 (32.1) | 304 (36.2) | |
Usual | 580 (35.1) | 274 (33.6) | 306 (36.5) | |
Sometimes | 318 (19.2) | 148 (18.1) | 170 (20.3) | |
Rare | 183 (11.1) | 129 (15.8) | 54 (6.4) | |
Never | 8 (0.5) | 3 (0.4) | 5 (0.6) | |
Frequency of parent expressing negative sentiments or discussed the epidemic in their child’s presence | 0.001 | |||
Always | 130 (7.9) | 73 (9.0) | 57 (6.8) | |
Usually | 217 (13.1) | 88 (10.8) | 129 (15.4) | |
Sometimes | 413 (25.0) | 186 (22.8) | 227 (27.1) | |
Rare | 541 (32.7) | 269 (33.0) | 272 (32.4) | |
Never | 354 (21.4) | 200 (24.5) | 154 (18.4) | |
Parents’ attitude towards children | 0.013 | |||
More irritable | 258 (15.6) | 147 (18.0) | 111 (13.2) | |
Unchanged | 506 (30.6) | 253 (31.0) | 253 (30.2) | |
More patient | 891 (53.8) | 416 (51.0) | 475 (56.6) | |
Parent–child closeness | 0.008 | |||
Worse | 177 (10.7) | 95 (11.6) | 82 (9.8) | |
Unchanged | 532 (32.2) | 286 (35.1) | 246 (29.3) | |
Better | 946 (57.2) | 435 (53.3) | 511 (60.9) | |
Panel B: Children’s internalizing & externalizing symptoms | ||||
Having emotional problems# | 163 (9.9) | 65 (8.0) | 98 (11.7) | 0.011 |
Having behavioral problems | 812 (49.1) | 322 (39.5) | 490 (58.4) | < 0.001 |
