Mothers of Young Children during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Depressive Symptoms and Perceived Stress.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, psychosocial well-being of families and parents worldwide has been impaired. As part of a larger online survey, we analyzed maternal depressive symptoms and perceived stress.

Method

A total of 666 mothers from Germany with young children (mostly aged 0-3 years) filled out the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) at 2 time points during the pandemic (T1: summer/fall 2020; T2: early spring 2021). We (1) calculated prevalence rates of a risk for depression and high perceived stress levels, (2) analyzed differences between time points via paired t tests, and (3) examined the reciprocal relation between the two constructs via cross-lagged panel modeling.

Results

Considering cut-off values o

SUBMITTER: Woll-Weber CFJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12324806 | biostudies-literature | 2025

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature