Structural pathways linking parental mental health and children's psychological difficulties during COVID-19 in Kerala, India: A covariance-based structural equation modelling (CB-SEM) analysis

Due to the Covid -19 pandemic outbreak and the lockdowns in Kerala, India, during the second wave in 2021, children were faced with prolonged school closures, lack of socialization, and family distress, all of which posed considerable psychological pressures on their well-being. To investigate the causal pathways among parental mental health, parenting attitude, family demographic characteristics, and child psychological problems, this research employed a cross-sectional survey that was conducted on 383 parents with their children, aged 5 to 15 years old. By means of Covariance-Based Structural Equation Modelling (CB-SEM) using SmartPLS software, we analyzed a data set consisting of 12 ordinal measures (Likert and ordered categorical) and 3 continuous composite variables (Depression, Anxiety, and sleep disorder) that represent the symptoms of child mental health problems as reported by the parents. In this case, there are four latent variables (Parental Mental Health, Child Information, Parents' Attitude Toward Child, and Child Mental Health) obtained from the validated measurement models. As indicated in the latent covariances, there exists a positive relationship between parental mental distress and child psychological problems (estimate = 1.349, SE = 0.242, p < .001), as well as a stronger correlation between harsh parental practices and child psychological issues (estimate = 3.146, SE = 0.288, p < .001). Moreover, it is found that parental distress is associated with poor parenting attitude (estimate = 0.242, SE = 0.046, p < .001). This suggests that parental mental distress can have a significant mediating effect on poor parental attitude towards children, which increases the likelihood of developing depression, anxiety, and sleep disorder. Family structure plays a comparatively modest role. These findings highlight how severe parenting practices and parental mental health affect children's mental health.