![]() ![]() Whereas children and adolescents are largely unaffected by COVID-19 in terms of infectious morbidity and mortality, dealing with lockdown and quarantine may have negative effects on their wellbeing 7. However, current measures to reduce the spread of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), such as home lockdown and social distancing, radically reduce adolescents’ opportunities to engage in peer relations outside their household 5, 6. During this time, parent–child relations may change given that children start to spend more time with peers 4. The transition from childhood to adolescence (10–13-years) is known as a period of increased emotional reactivity and social reorientation 1, 2, 3. These results suggest that children in families with negative coping strategies and (a history of) parental overreactivity might be at risk for negative consequences of the lockdown. Additionally, children’s stress levels were influenced by prior and current parental overreactivity. Perceived stress in parents and children was associated with negative coping strategies. Changes in parental negative feelings and children’s externalizing behavior were mediated by perceived stress: higher scores prior to the lockdown were related to more stress during the lockdown, which in turn was associated with an increase in parental negative feelings and children’s’ externalizing behavior. Longitudinal child measures showed a gradual decrease in internalizing and externalizing behavior, which seemed decelerated by the COVID-19 lockdown. We report a significant increase in parental negative feelings (anxiety, depression, hostility and interpersonal sensitivity). A total of 106 parents and 151 children (10–13-year-olds) filled in questionnaires during lockdown and data were combined with data of previous years. Using a longitudinal twin design, we investigated how perceived stress influenced lockdown induced changes in wellbeing of parents and children. Perceived stress may influence the direction of these effects. Dealing with a COVID-19 lockdown may have negative effects on children, but at the same time might facilitate parent–child bonding.
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