The Recover Study: A Cross-Sectional Examination of the Relationship Between Ontario Parents’ Resilience and COVID-19-Related Stressors

Resilience, or the ability to bounce back despite facing adversities, may influence parents’ abilities to handle the multitude of parent-specific COVID-19-related challenges that have faced them. This cross-sectional study examined (1) the relationship between parents’ resilience and their COVID-19-related family stressors; (2) parents’ perceptions of their greatest stressors throughout the pandemic; and (3) non-school-related challenges and their resultant impact on parents’ and children's resilience. Via an online survey, data was collected from 63 parents (M(age) = 37.09; 82.54% female). A significant relationship was found between parents’ resilience and both their COVID-19-related stressors and family stressors. Parents described stressors challenging their resilience, including impacts on their mental health, managing occupational and educational responsibilities, social isolation, and economic setbacks, while also noting the impacts of social isolation, missing extracurricular activities, and lacking routines for their children. Overall, Ontario parents high in resilience are likely better positioned to adapt to pandemic-related stressors.