Impact of COVID-19 on Well-Being in Child-Rearing Families: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted society, economy and family life. However, the impact of the pandemic on well-being in child-rearing families has not been fully studied, particularly regarding the changes before and during the pandemic and its long-term effects. This s...

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Main Authors: Qiting Lin, Takafumi Soejima, Shiqi Zhang, Mari Kitao
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-05-01
Series:Social Sciences
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/5/312
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author Qiting Lin
Takafumi Soejima
Shiqi Zhang
Mari Kitao
author_facet Qiting Lin
Takafumi Soejima
Shiqi Zhang
Mari Kitao
author_sort Qiting Lin
collection DOAJ
description The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted society, economy and family life. However, the impact of the pandemic on well-being in child-rearing families has not been fully studied, particularly regarding the changes before and during the pandemic and its long-term effects. This systematic review aimed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family well-being by focusing on changes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our systematic review (PROSPERO protocol ID: CRD42023420175) extracted 2148 references from MEDLINE, CINAHL and PsycINFO, including 15 longitudinal studies published between January 2020 and October 2024. We examined the association between COVID-19 and the well-being of child-rearing families following the PRISMA guidelines. The level of family functioning and parent–child relationship quality generally declined during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic situation, while family chaos and conflict increased. However, some families reported improved functioning and no significant changes in family satisfaction. Overall, the impact of the pandemic on family well-being varied by region. These findings suggest that healthcare providers should continue to monitor dynamic family health and provide targeted support.
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spelling doaj-art-b5adcc09f0c5403c81eedd04d2f3c48e2025-08-20T03:12:12ZengMDPI AGSocial Sciences2076-07602025-05-0114531210.3390/socsci14050312Impact of COVID-19 on Well-Being in Child-Rearing Families: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal StudiesQiting Lin0Takafumi Soejima1Shiqi Zhang2Mari Kitao3Graduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University, Kobe 654-0142, JapanGraduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University, Kobe 654-0142, JapanGraduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University, Kobe 654-0142, JapanGraduate School of Health Sciences, Kobe University, Kobe 654-0142, JapanThe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has disrupted society, economy and family life. However, the impact of the pandemic on well-being in child-rearing families has not been fully studied, particularly regarding the changes before and during the pandemic and its long-term effects. This systematic review aimed to examine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on family well-being by focusing on changes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our systematic review (PROSPERO protocol ID: CRD42023420175) extracted 2148 references from MEDLINE, CINAHL and PsycINFO, including 15 longitudinal studies published between January 2020 and October 2024. We examined the association between COVID-19 and the well-being of child-rearing families following the PRISMA guidelines. The level of family functioning and parent–child relationship quality generally declined during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic situation, while family chaos and conflict increased. However, some families reported improved functioning and no significant changes in family satisfaction. Overall, the impact of the pandemic on family well-being varied by region. These findings suggest that healthcare providers should continue to monitor dynamic family health and provide targeted support.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/5/312COVID-19family well-beingfamily functioningfamily chaosfamily conflictfamily satisfaction
spellingShingle Qiting Lin
Takafumi Soejima
Shiqi Zhang
Mari Kitao
Impact of COVID-19 on Well-Being in Child-Rearing Families: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies
Social Sciences
COVID-19
family well-being
family functioning
family chaos
family conflict
family satisfaction
title Impact of COVID-19 on Well-Being in Child-Rearing Families: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies
title_full Impact of COVID-19 on Well-Being in Child-Rearing Families: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies
title_fullStr Impact of COVID-19 on Well-Being in Child-Rearing Families: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies
title_full_unstemmed Impact of COVID-19 on Well-Being in Child-Rearing Families: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies
title_short Impact of COVID-19 on Well-Being in Child-Rearing Families: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies
title_sort impact of covid 19 on well being in child rearing families a systematic review of longitudinal studies
topic COVID-19
family well-being
family functioning
family chaos
family conflict
family satisfaction
url https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0760/14/5/312
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AT shiqizhang impactofcovid19onwellbeinginchildrearingfamiliesasystematicreviewoflongitudinalstudies
AT marikitao impactofcovid19onwellbeinginchildrearingfamiliesasystematicreviewoflongitudinalstudies