The Interaction Effects of Homeschooling and Pandemic‐Related Worries on Chinese Parents’ Mental Health: A Cross‐Sectional Study

Background: Many countries worldwide implemented school closures to reduce COVID‐19 transmission. By the new ‘homeschooling’ process, children could continue the regular school curriculum. However, parents still conduct more basic education and supervision, which may increase parental stress. Objective: The objectives of this study were to examine the relationship between homeschooling and psychological distress among parents, to assess the interactive effects of homeschooling experience and pandemic‐related anxieties on the mental health of Chinese parents and to explore gender differences in these interaction effects. Method: The study employed a cross‐sectional design, surveying 746 Chinese parents with children aged 10–18 years old during the COVID‐19 lockdown. Parental mental health was assessed using the DASS‐21, while homeschooling and pandemic‐related worries were measured through a 9‐item questionnaire from the Co‐SPACE project. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression, focusing on the interaction effects between homeschooling dimensions and parental worries on mental health. Interaction effects were defined as the combined influence of homeschooling practices and pandemic concerns on parental mental health, revealing the complex interplay between these factors during the pandemic. Results: We found a higher level of job‐related worries was associated with worse parental mental health ( β = 3.593, p < 0.001). Additionally, the learning process was significantly positively correlated with parental mental health (acceptance of parental homework support, β = 1.748, p = 0.003 and children’s completion of the studying task, β = 1.337, p = 0.018). Job‐related worries significantly moderated the relationship between homeschooling and parental mental health ( β = 2.215, p = 0.026). Regarding gender differences, the interaction effects of job‐related worries on the relationship between homeschooling and parental psychological symptoms were only significant among mothers ( β = 2.579, p = 0.020). Conclusion: Homeschooling is significantly associated with Chinese parents’ psychological symptoms. Parental job‐related worries are found to moderate the association between homeschooling and parental psychological symptoms. School intervention programs should concern more about children’s negative homeschooling learning status.