Parenthood in a Crisis: Stress Potentials and Gender Differences of Parents During the Corona Pandemic

Abstract

The social consequences of the corona pandemic are unequally distributed. Initial studies show that people with a low household income are particularly affected by the consequences of the pandemic, but also families have been faced with massive challenges for coping with everyday life and subjective health due to the lockdown. In our research we can show and concretise the burden dimensions of parents, but also their resources in times of Corona crisis. It becomes clear that mothers in particular are more affected by emotional consequences, their life satisfaction has dropped most, and they have to take over the care and home schooling of their children for the most part. However, some families are benefiting from the crisis in terms of the time resources they are gaining. It is also striking that the family seems to be both- a resource and a source of stress for women during the lockdown.