Risk or Opportunity? How is Children’s Subjective Well-Being Affected by Their Parents During Public Health Emergencies

Past work has demonstrated the “dark side” of public health emergencies such as the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about its psychological benefits. According to conservation of resources theory, such emergencies would motivate individuals to enrich their resources to cope with stressful situations. Therefore, emergencies may also brew opportunities for development. Based on this belief, it was proposed that parents’ concerns about the emergency (i.e., COVID-19) would affect their perceptions of resources and thus their own and their children’s subjective well-being. The present study investigated the subjective well-being of 311 children (55% girls, mean age = 12.52 years) and one of their parents (81% mothers, mean age = 40.08 years), as well as parents’ perceived concerns and resources about the pandemic from May to June 2022 in China. The results showed that, first, parents’ subjective well-being can positively predict children’s subjective well-being; second, parents’ concerns can positively predict their perceptions of resources about the pandemic; and finally, concerns can positively predict resources and parents’ and children’s subjective well-being sequentially. To conclude, parents’ concerns improved their preparations of resources to cope with the emergency and thus increased their and their children’s subjective well-being. These findings not only broaden our understanding of the effects of public health emergencies but also provide practical implications for the protection of mental health in the postpandemic era.