Empirical Support for a Model of Risk and Resilience in Children and Families During Covid-19: A Systematic Review & Narrative Synthesis

Background. The COVID-19 Family Disruption Model (FDM) describes the cascading effects of pandemic-related social disruptions to child and family psychosocial functioning. The current systematic review assesses the empirical support for the model. Methods. Study eligibility: 1) children between 2–18 years (and/or their caregivers); 2) a quantitative longitudinal design; 3) published findings during the first 2.5 years of COVID-19; 4) an assessment of caregiver and/or family functioning; 5) an assessment of child internalizing, externalizing, or positive adjustment; and 6) an examination of a COVID-19 FDM pathway. Following a search of PsycINFO and MEDLINE in August 2022, screening, full-text assessments, and data extraction were completed by two reviewers. Study quality was examined using an adapted NIH risk-of-bias tool. Results. Findings from 47 studies were summarized using descriptive statistics, tables, and a narrative synthesis. There is emerging support for bidirectional pathways linking caregiver-child functioning and family-child functioning, particularly for child internalizing problems. Quality assessments indicated issues with attrition, power justification, and insufficient examination of mediators and moderators. Discussion. We provide a critical summary of the empirical support for the model, highlighting themes related to family systems theory and risk/resilience. We outline future directions for research on child and family well-being during COVID-19. Systematic review registration. PROSPERO [CRD42022327191]