Zhang Receives Grant to Study Parent-Child Relationships During a Pandemic

ATLANTA—College of Education & Human Development Assistant Professor Chenyi Zhang has received a $3,000 Natural Hazards Center grant to study the quality of parent-child relationships during a pandemic.

The grant project, titled, “The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Parental Stress and Young Children’s Development During Self-Isolation,” will ask parents to fill out an online questionnaire every 30 days for three months to collect information about their stresses and their relationships with their children.

The project’s data will offer insight into how social distancing and self-isolation guidelines have led to changes in child care, education, work schedules and daily routines for families from various socioeconomic and demographic backgrounds.

“We hope to reveal the common stressors parents experience during this outbreak and get public attention on the impact of COVID-19 not only on public health, but also family emotional well-being,” Zhang said. “The findings of this study will also prepare evidence for developing an emergency emotional support program for families.

“The pandemic will end but the impact on family well-being will linger. Children will need guidance to get back to a ‘normal’ routine when they return to a classroom. While COVID-19 is a traumatic event everyone is going through, this is also a valuable opportunity for educators to reach out and collaborate with parents to support children’s development together.”

For more information about the Natural Hazards Center, click here.