Symposia
Disaster Mental Health
Elizabeth R. Kitt, B.S.
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Emily Cohodes, M.S., M.Phil.
Graduate Student
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Sarah McCauley, PhD
Lab Manager
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Grace Hommel, B.S.
Lab Manager
Yale Child Study Center
New Haven, Connecticut
Cristina Nardini, PhD
Research Assistant
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Sadie Zacharek, B.S.
Research Assistant
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Alyssa Martino, MS, SYC
Lab Manager
Yale University
New haven, Connecticut
Tess Anderson, PhD
Research Assistant
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Hannah Spencer, MSc
Research Assistant
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Paola Odriozola, PhD
PhD student
Yale University
New Haven, CT
Georgia Spurrier, PhD
Undergraduate Research Assistant
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Alexis Broussard, PhD
Research Assistant
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Carla Marin, Ph.D.
Associate Research Scientist
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Wendy Silverman, PhD
Professor
Yale Child Study Center, School of Medicine, Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Eli Lebowitz, PhD
Associate Professor
Yale Child Study Center, School of Medicine, Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
Dylan Gee, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Yale University
New Haven, Connecticut
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused pervasive disruptions to family life. In light of the established role of parent-child dynamics in the maintenance of pediatric anxiety, we conducted a multilevel, multimodal study to examine how family-level factors moderate anxious youths’ responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to the pandemic (“pre-pandemic”), children with anxiety disorders (n = 28; ages 6-12) completed an fMRI task probing parental modulation of amygdala reactivity to fearful faces. During the first peak of the COVID-19 pandemic (“mid-pandemic”), parents completed questionnaires about their family’s exposure to COVID-19-related stress, their child’s COVID-19-related fears and behaviors, and their own (parental) functioning. Pre-pandemic parental modulation of amygdala reactivity moderated the association between children’s exposure to COVID-19-related stress and their COVID-19-related fears, such that greater parental modulation of amygdala reactivity buffered against exposure to COVID-19-related stress. Furthermore, greater mid-pandemic parental assistance with their child’s use of venting and with their child’s use of expressive suppression as emotion regulation strategies exacerbated the effects of COVID-19-related stress on children’s COVID-19-related fears and behaviors, respectively. These results provide preliminary insight into the ways in which distinct family-level factors may buffer or exacerbate the effect of COVID-19-related stress on youth with a history of anxiety disorders.