The negative consequences of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the health of mother and child considering maternal childhood maltreatment

Abstract

Abstract Background Preventive isolation and social distancing strategies during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic have confronted families with a variety of different limitations and pressures like preventive isolation and school closures. Especially in this stressful time, children need a stable parental home to prevent developmental consequences. Additional risk factors such as maternal childhood maltreatment (CM) may affect mother’s psychosomatic health and children’s physical well-being in times of increased stress such as during the ongoing pandemic. Objective We aimed to analyze the interplay between maternal CM, mother’s mental health, and children’s physical complaints during the SARS-CoV-2-pandemic. Method Mothers of a well-documented birth cohort for investigating the pathways leading to resilience or vulnerability in the transgenerational transmission of CM were imbedded in an online “SARS-CoV-2 pandemic survey” assessing mother’s psychosomatic health and children’s physical health during the pandemic. 159 mothers completed the online survey. To describe the maternal CM, data from a longitudinal survey were used. Results Our mediation analysis demonstrates a significant positive association between the sum of maternal CM experiences, maternal psychosomatic symptoms, and their children’s physical health complaints. The maternal psychosomatic symptoms significantly mediate the interplay between CM and children’s physical health complaints, the direct effect does not remain significant when the maternal psychosomatic symptoms were included as mediator. Conclusions Maternal CM seems to be one relevant risk factor for mother’s psychosomatic health and children’s physical well-being during a stressful time like a pandemic. Maternal CM experiences seem to influence the way how parents deal with stressful situations and increase the risk to suffer depressive symptoms. The latter impact also their children’s physical well-being. Our results highlight the importance to carefully assess the specific situation of families with children and to provide individually adjusted assistance to help the families to get through the pandemic.