Maltreatment, harsh parenting, and parent–adolescent relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted multiple aspects of family life, including normative tendencies for adolescents to establish independence from the family. This disruption has had profound, but variable impacts on parent–adolescent relationships, strengthening them in some circumstances and increasing the risk for harsh parenting and maltreatment in others. Factors that moderated this influence include a family's financial situation and pandemic-related job loss, pre-existing characteristics of the parent–child relationship, and parent and adolescent mental health. Further research is needed to examine the mechanisms through which the pandemic continues to influence parent–adolescent relationships, with attention to policy-related impacts.