561 - Modifiable and Non-Modifiable Risk Factors of Child Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Poster Number: 561
Publication Number: 561.2276

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic had unparalleled effects on youth, especially in terms of mental and behavioral health. Knowledge of modifiable and non-modifiable risk factors which may contribute to children’s mental health and data on how perceptions of mental health may differ across different demographic groups, is lacking.

Objective: To examine modifiable (seeking outside support, family functioning, missing childhood milestone activities) and non-modifiable risk factors (e.g. child age, race/ethnicity) for child mental health.

Design/Methods: Data were collected through the Voices of Child Health in Chicago Parent Panel Survey, administered between October-November 2021 in English and Spanish. Eligible parents had a child between 0-17 years old and lived in Chicago. Parents reported on their experiences during the pandemic and on their child’s mental health (Table 1 for items). Logistic regression was used to identify associations among potential modifiable risk factors as predictors of the child having worsening mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rao-Scott chi-squared tests examined differences in child mental health across demographic groups (child age, race/ethnicity, household income, education, and city region).

Results: Data were collected from 1,129 Chicago parents who reported about 1,891 children (Table 2). Worse family functioning (OR=3.53, 95%CI: 1.89-6.62), seeking support for their child (OR=5.99, 95% CI: 3.60-9.96) and missed social milestones/activities (OR=6.32, 95%CI: 2.37-16.84) were significant predictors of worsening mental health for children during the COVID-19 pandemic (Table 3). The proportion of children with worsening mental health differed across child race/ethnicity and age. A higher proportion of Asian/other-race children had worsening mental health compared with children of other groups (20% vs. 9-10%, p <.05), and a marginally higher proportion of older children had worsening mental health compared with younger children (15% vs. 8-10%, p =.07).

Conclusion(s): Poorer family functioning and missed milestones contributed significantly to worsening child mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents who sought outside support had higher odds of having a child with worsening mental health, which may indicate that parents recognized their child’s deteriorating mental health and took steps to address it. These findings may help to inform parental interventions in future times of stress.