Pandemic-induced economic stress in an otherwise-privileged sample predicts parents’ socialization of child prosociality and parent coping

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated “lockdown” measures spurred adverse employment changes and economic insecurity in U.S. families. Paradoxically, there was a surge in prosocial behavior. Chronically lower socioeconomic status has been associated with adults’ greater prosociality, a counterintuitive phenomenon attributed to heightened sensitivity to others’ needs. It is unclear whether experiencing an acute financial stressor—like the pandemic—would similarly promote prosociality. Following the “tend-and-befriend” theory, pandemic-induced financial stress may have motivated parents to engage their children in prosocial behaviors as a means of coping with the pandemic. Thus, we examined the associations of both pandemic-induced employment and economic stress with parents engaging their children in helping activities during shelter-in-place and whether this supported parents’ coping. A total of 492 parents (443 women; 72% White; income-per-capita range: $833–$87,500) with children ages 2–18 years completed an online survey during May–June 2020, assessing negative employment changes, pandemic-induced economic stress, families’ engagement in helping activities, and parent’s coping. Controlling for demographics and pre-pandemic income, our indirect effects model found that more negative employment changes predicted greater economic stress, which in turn predicted more helping activities with children. Parents who reported more helping activities also had better coping skills. Our findings demonstrate that acute financial stress directly resulting from COVID-19 spurred parents to engage their children in other-oriented, prosocial acts, perhaps as a means of enhancing social support with others experiencing pandemic stress. Moreover, helping others bolstered parents’ overall coping, revealing avenues for promoting well-being during a health crisis.