Emotional and Behavioral Health among Portuguese Toddlers during the COVID-19 Crisis: The Impact of Social Isolation and Caregiving Distress

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in the lives of families with young children. The present study aimed to explore whether child social isolation due to the COVID-19 crisis was associated with toddlers’ emotional and behavioral health (EBH) and whether this association was moderated by caregiving distress, during the second mandatory lockdown in Portugal. Participants included 315 toddlers and their primary caregivers. Caregivers were invited to complete a set of questionnaires in order to report about toddlers’ social isolation from other significant family members, other children, and activities outside the house, and to provide ratings of caregiving distress and toddlers’ EBH. Family socioeconomic factors, including stressors resulted from the pandemic, were also measured. Significant interaction effects, independent of child sex and sociodemographic factors, between COVID-19-related social isolation and caregiving distress emerged in the prediction of toddlers’ EBH: COVID-19-related social isolation was found to be a significant predictor of both emotional/behavioral competencies and problems, but only among toddlers exposed to higher levels of caregiving distress. This study evidences the negative impact of the COVID-19 crisis on the functioning of Portuguese families and toddlers’ EBH. It emphasizes the importance for policies to consider the implications of the COVID-19 crisis for young children, and to provide psychosocial support to families in order to reduce caregiving distress and, thus, prevent children’s mental health problems.