Objective

Since March 2020, millions of children have been confined to their homes and restricted from in-person activities, radically changing the dynamics of parent-child relationships. This study examines the association between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) impact and the mental health of parents and school-aged children; specifically, whether qualities of the parent-child relationship moderated the relationship between parents' emotional health (EH) and children's emotional and behavioral health (EBH).

Methods

Data from this Internet-based study of a community sample were collected in March-May 2020. Parents (N = 158, 92.4% White, 96.2% female) reported on COVID-19 impacts, their own EH, perceptions of their relationship with their eldest child between 6 and 12 years-old, and the EBH of that child.

Results

Responses to questions about COVID-19 impact were assigned weighted values and used to create a COVID-19 impact scale. Hierarchical linear regressions revealed that greater COVID-19 impact was associated with greater parents' EH issues only, and parents' EH was a significant positive predictor of children's EBH. Positive qualities and conflict in the parent-child relationship moderated the link between parents' and children's EH. At higher levels of relationship conflict and lower levels of positivity, there were stronger positive associations between parents' and children's EH. Parent-child relationship quality did not moderate the association between parents' EH and children's behavioral health (BH).

Conclusions

These cross-sectional study results suggest that beyond focusing on symptom management, families may benefit from supports targeting the parent-child relationship. Insights and implications for practitioners are discussed.

The outer layer of the epidermis composes the skin barrier, a sophisticated filter constituted by layers of corneocytes in a lipid matrix. The matrix lipids, especially the ceramide-generated sphingosine 1-phosphate, are the messengers that the skin barrier uses to communicate with the basal layer of the epidermis where replicating keratinocytes are located. Sphingosine 1-phosphate is a bioactive sphingolipid mediator involved in various cellular functions through S1PR1‒5, expressed by keratinocytes. We discovered that the S1pr2 absence is linked to an impairment in the skin barrier function. Although S1pr2^-/- mouse skin has no difference in its phenotype and barrier function compared with that of wild-type mouse, after tape stripping, S1pr2^-/- mouse showed significantly higher transepidermal water loss and required another 24 hours to normalize their transepidermal water loss levels. Moreover, after epicutaneous Staphylococcus aureus application, impaired S1pr2^-/- mouse epidermal barrier function allowed deeper bacterial penetration and denser neutrophil infiltration in the dermis. Microarray and RNA sequence of S1pr2^-/- mouse epidermis linked the barrier dysfunction with a decrease in FLG2 and tight junction components. In conclusion, S1pr2^-/- mice have compromised skin barrier function and increased bacteria permeability, making them a suitable model for diseases that present similar characteristics, such as atopic dermatitis.