Comparing the impact of the first and second wave of COVID-19 lockdown on Slovak families with typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorder.
Lockdown stress snowballed across two waves, slamming autism families hardest and worsening child internalizing behaviors.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Polónyiová et al. (2022) sent online surveys to Slovak families twice. Wave 1 was spring 2020. Wave 2 was fall 2020.
Some families had autistic children. Others had typically developing kids. Parents rated their own stress, anxiety, and depression. They also rated child behaviors.
What they found
After wave 1, only autism parents showed high anxiety. By wave 2, both groups felt worse. Depression, anxiety, and stress rose for everyone.
Autism families got hit hardest. Their kids also showed more internalizing behaviors like worry and withdrawal.
How this fits with other research
Tokatly Latzer et al. (2021) interviewed parents early in the pandemic. They found the same spike in challenges. Their qualitative stories match these new numbers.
Jones et al. (2010) showed mothers of preschoolers with autism already had the highest stress pre-COVID. The lockdowns simply poured gasoline on that fire.
Wang et al. (2024) tracked parents day-by-day. They learned that chains of negative emotions predict stress better than single bad days. Katarína’s wave 2 surge fits that pattern.
Why it matters
You may see new internalizing behaviors in your clients. Check parent stress first. A brief mood screen at intake can guide your treatment plan. Offer parent coping skills or tele-support groups. When caregivers feel better, kids adapt better.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
A global pandemic caused by a new coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) affected everyday lives of all people, including individuals with special needs, such as autism spectrum disorder. The aim of this research was to compare the mental health of families with children with autism spectrum disorder to families with typically developing children, and between the first and the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak in Slovakia. This mainly included symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress of parents and problem behavior or sleeping difficulties of their children. The research sample consisted of 332 parents (155 of which have children with autism spectrum disorder), 179 surveyed during the first wave and 153 during the second wave. Online parent questionnaire was created, including demographic and specific topic questions, Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale-42 questionnaire, and internalizing and externalizing maladaptive behavior subscales from Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales. Our results show that during the first wave, parents of autism spectrum disorder children suffered high levels of anxiety. During the second wave, both groups of parents suffered increased anxiety, stress, and depression, but especially severe for parents of children with autism spectrum disorder. Internalizing maladaptive behavior of autistic children grew significantly between the waves. Parental depression, anxiety, and stress were interconnected with maladaptive behavior of both autism spectrum disorder and typically developing children, suggesting the importance of the therapy options for whole families.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2022 · doi:10.1177/13623613211051480