1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The current study aims to explore if the lockdown caused by the COVID-19 has created a context for child neglect. [More specifically, the] purpose of this study is to document the response to children’s needs during the lockdown in the province of Quebec, Canada. Reports from parents concerning the response their children received to their needs during the coronavirus lockdown were examined.» (p. 3)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
The participants in this study come from the «MAVIPAN (Ma vie et la pandémie, My Life During the Pandemic) [who] is a prospective longitudinal cohort developed to document the health, social, behavioral, and individual determinants and psychosocial impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on individuals, aged 14 and over, across the Province of Quebec […]. Participants included in the current analysis were adults living with children at home (parents or legal guardians, thereafter parents) […] which corresponds to the most severe lockdown measures established in the province […].» (p. 3) The sample consisted of 414 parents of children aged 0 and 17 years.

Instruments :
Questionnaire

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«During the COVID-19 lockdown, parents of older children reported experiencing more difficulty ensuring their child’s needs were met than parents of younger children. These findings are not representative of the results of research conducted prior to COVID-19, although comparisons are difficult to make given the differences between samples. For instance, the current results are representative of a sample composed mainly of employed and educated parents.» (p. 5) Moreover, the «results are consistent with numerous studies that have raised awareness on the potential negative impacts of the lockdown, particularly for school-aged children, on many aspects of child development, including physical and mental health […]. In the context of neglect, there is a tendency to put all the responsibility on the parents, although it is theoretically recognized that parents should not be the sole providers of all the child’s needs […]. The fact that the response to younger children’s needs seems less affected by the lockdown may simply reflect the fact that these parents are more used to assuming most of the responsibilities for their children. This does not imply, however, that these parents find it easy to be the main providers in times of pandemic. The difficulties in meeting children’s needs in the context of the pandemic highlight the link between the lack of support outside the immediate family and the precariousness of the response to children’s needs.» (p. 7)