Psychosocial Health of Young Families in Germany (JuFaDE)

Numerous German and international longitudinal studies conducted over the past decades have demonstrated impressively how severely early psychosocial stress can impair children's physical and mental health as well as their cognitive and social-emotional development (1, 2). Children are particularly vulnerable to stressful environmental factors in the first years of life, when they are undergoing rapid development. At the same time, their individual protection and coping mechanisms are generally still underdeveloped (3). Psychosocial stressors in families, such as parenting stress , parental psychopathology, or problematic child behavior, can significantly impair parents' emotional and physical ability to provide care (4, 5). As a result, reductions in parental sensitivity (5) and dysfunctional parenting behavior (6) are more frequently observed, which in turn can negatively affect the parent–child relationship (7). Yet a trusting and reliable attachment forms the foundation for healthy child development (8, 9). In order to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the complex interaction mechanisms of childhood and parenting stress symptoms, the parent-child relationship and parental behavior should always be considered as relevant determinants in addition to parental and childhood symptoms. The causes of family stress are diverse and can be located at both the intrafamilial level—such as mental or physical illness, low socioeconomic status, or conflictual relationship patterns—and at the societal level (e.g., economic instability or inflation) (10). In addition to structural, society-wide stress factors, day-to-day demands within the family and its environment can also substantially shape the experience of stress. Particularly at the intersections of different areas of family life—such as balancing employment and family responsibilities, organising child care, or distributing household duties—potential stressors may accumulate (11). High mental demands resulting from managing and coordinating everyday family routines play a central role in this regard (12). Empirical studies also show that modified demands on parents—as a result of changing social expectations of parenthood, such as juggling work and family commitments—can significantly increase subjective stress levels (13). An elevated mental load not only increases the risk of parenting stress and exhaustion but may also have adverse effects on children's healthy development (14, 15). In addition to current challenges, earlier adverse experiences in parents’ own childhood—such as the loss of caregivers or exposure to violence (Adverse Childhood Experiences, ACE)—may act as decisive risk factors for parents’ present stress experience and can in turn affect their child and the family system as a whole (16, 17). These findings highlight the importance of conducting family-oriented and context-sensitive assessments of psychosocial stress factors. Alongside the structural and familial stressors mentioned, media have also gained importance as significant environmental factors for families (18). The abundance and ubiquity of diverse media offerings not only imply a quantitative rise in media use among parents and children but also an increasing qualitative influence of media on leisure activities and information-seeking behaviour. Research findings indicate changes in parent–child interaction (19, 20, 21) and in child developmental outcomes associated with increased media use (22, 23). As part of this study, parental and child media use will be examined, and associations with psychosocial stress symptoms, the parent–child relationship, and parenting behaviour will be analysed. In addition to a risk-oriented perspective on stress parameters, greater attention should also be directed toward family resources. While a lack of supportive resources is associated with increased family susceptibility to psychosocial burdens (24, 25), existing resources can have a protective effect against perceived stress (26, 27). Against this background, the study also aims to identify family resilience factors as resources and thereby broaden the perspective on family stress conditions. Given the importance of early and adequate support for psychosocially burdened families, another area of research interest concerns the availability and framework conditions of psychosocial services for families with young children. This includes examining access to family support services (e.g., early childhood intervention programs), as well as assessing parents’ subjective satisfaction with these services and their actual utilisation. In light of increasing family burdens and needs—exacerbated by societal challenges such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and inflation (28)—the information gathered will be used to draw conclusions about the state of service provision and children's participation, as well as to identify referral pathways, the appropriateness and reach of available services, and potential gaps in the existing support system. 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