Profiles of Child Internalizing and Externalizing Problems During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Jordan and Differences in Mothers’ Psychosocial Functioning

The COVID-19 pandemic upended children’s lives worldwide, with severe effects on low-income families. Longitudinal studies on child mental health trajectories during crisis periods are scarce, in particular in the Arab region. This study contributes knowledge about children’s mental health and helps to identify children at risk of mental health problems. We explored patterns of change in Jordanian preschool-aged children’s externalizing and internalizing problems during the COVID-19 pandemic and examined associations with mothers’ psychosocial functioning. Fifty mothers (38% from low-income families) reported on their child’s mental health in 2019 and three times during the pandemic (June 2020, December 2020, and June 2021). In June 2021, mothers also reported on their own psychological functioning. Using a longitudinal k-means clustering algorithm, we identified three internalizing problem profiles (low and stable, moderate and stable, high and increasing) and three externalizing problem profiles (low and stable, moderate and decreasing, high and stable). Externalizing problem profiles differed with regard to child sex (F [2,47] = 3.20, P = 0.050, η2 = 0.12). Furthermore, externalizing problem profiles differed in relation to mothers’ depressive symptoms (F [2,42] = 3.62, P = 0.04, η2 = 0.15). We found that young children from Jordan responded differently to the stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic. This heterogeneity can inform interventions targeting vulnerable children.