Positive Parenting during COVID-19: Understanding Some Antecedents in Critical Times

Abstract

The aim of this chapter is to explore positive parenting during COVID-19 times in Spain. The study was not only interested whether positive parenting occurred during the health crisis, but also which predictors explain the process. For doing this, this study is based on 583 Spanish parents. The study was conducted during the State of Alarm in Spain (March-May 2020), where the country experienced a full lockdown. Our results showed that stress, family support, family belongingness, prayer and religious life, and family trust have a significant positive relationship with some of the four dimensions of positive parenting, (bonding, formative, protective and reflexive competences). This research enriches the extensive body of scholarship on positive parenting in at least three ways. First, it explores positive parenting under extraordinary circumstances (COVID-19). Second, it expands the research in Spain with very recent data. Finally, it contributes to understand better the antecedents of positive parenting among contemporary families.