Single Parents' <scp>COVID</scp> ‐19 Pandemic‐Induced Job Loss and Parenting Difficulties in South Korea: A Moderated Mediation Model of Parental Depression and Child Gender

ABSTRACT This study aims to examine the association between single parents' pandemic‐induced job loss (PIJL) and parenting difficulties (PD) in Korea, with particular attention to investigating the moderated mediating effect of parental depression by child gender. A nationally representative sample of 2550 single parents with adolescent children were used for data analyses. The results showed that single parents' PIJL was positively associated with PD, and this association was fully mediated by parental depression. Moreover, the mediating effect of PIJL on PD through parental depression was stronger for single parents with male children than for those with female children.