The Effect of COVID-19 Lockdowns on Maternal Mental Health and Parenting Practices Moderated by Urban Green Space

Abstract

Stress generates difficulties in parenting, which affects child development. We aimed to understand the impact of COVID-19 lockdowns on maternal mental health and parenting practices. We also explored to what extent green space is a protective factor in the aforementioned relationship. We explored heterogeneous lockdown effects using longitudinal georeferenced data for 985 families (mothers and 24- to 30-month-olds) and exploiting localized lockdowns in Chile. Controlling for observed and unobserved fixed characteristics, on average, we did not find an association between lockdown duration and maternal mental health or parenting practices. However, the previous nonsignificant association is heterogeneous across access to green space. Although lockdown duration increased dysfunctional interactions with children for mothers with little access to green space, we did not see the previous effect on mothers who live close to green space. Mothers who do not comply with the lockdown mandate are the ones who drive this heterogeneous effect.