psyg-12-562800 Feb ua y 23, 2021 Time: 17:54 # 1
ORIGINAL RESEARCH
published: 01 Ma ch 2021
doi: 10.3389/ psyg.2021.562800
Edi ed by:
Gianluca Cas elnuo o,
Ca holic Uni e si y o he Sac ed
Hea , I aly
Re iewed by:
José An onio Ma ín Ma ín,
Uni e si y o G anada, Spain
Mi eia O gilés,
Miguel He nández Uni e si y o Elche,
Spain
*Co espondence:
Raquel Lozano-Blasco
lozano@uniza .es
Special y sec ion:
This a icle was submi ed o
Heal h Psychology,
a sec ion o he jou nal
F on ie s in Psychology
Recei ed: 18 May 2020
Accep ed: 08 Feb ua y 2021
Published: 01 Ma ch 2021
Ci a ion:
Quílez-Rob es A,
Lozano-Blasco R, Íñiguez-Be ozpe T
and Co és-Pascual A (2021) Social,
Family, and Educa ional Impac s on
Anxie y and Cogni i e Empa hy
De i ed F om he COVID-19: S udy
on Families Wi h Child en.
F on . Psychol. 12:562800.
doi: 10.3389/ psyg.2021.562800
Social, Family, and Educa ional
Impac s on Anxie y and Cogni i e
Empa hy De i ed F om he
COVID-19: S udy on Families Wi h
Child en
Albe o Quílez-Rob es1, Raquel Lozano-Blasco1*, Ta iana Íñiguez-Be ozpe2and
Alejand a Co és-Pascual1
1Depa men o Educa ional Sciences, Uni e si y o Za agoza, Za agoza, Spain, 2Depa men o Psychology and Sociology,
Uni e si y o Za agoza, Za agoza, Spain
This esea ch aims o moni o he cu en si ua ion o con inemen in Spanish socie y
mo i a ed by COVID-19 c isis. Fo his, a s udy o i s socio- amily, psychological
and educa ional impac is conduc ed. The sample (N= 165 amilies, 89.1% nuclea
amilies wi h child en li ing in he same household and 20.5% wi h a ela i e in a isk
g oup) comes om he A agonese egion (Spain). The ins umen s used a e: Beck-II
Dep ession In en o y (BDI-II); Ba on-Cohen and Wheelw igh ’s Empa hy Quo ien (EQ)
wi h i s cogni i e empa hy subscale, as well as an ad-hoc ques ionnai e, e iewed
by a panel o expe s, o lea n abou socio-pe sonal, amily and housing condi ions,
use o echnology, in ol emen in school asks and household, and wo king condi ion.
The mul iple eg ession analysis esul s show ha he anxie y de i ed om he cu en
si ua ion is explained in 23.1% (p<0.001) by he a iables: gende ( = -2.31, p= 0.022),
le el o In e ne consump ion ( = 2.139, p= 0.034), inc ease o amily con lic s
( = 2.980, p= 0.003) and help wi h school asks ( = 2.980, p= 0.040). On he o he
hand, cogni i e empa hy is explained in 24.6% (p<0.001) by he a iables: gende ( = -
4.690, p<0.001) and mo he ’s hou s o elewo king ( = 2.101, p= 0.037). All his leads
us o conclusions ela ed o p e en i e sys ems o social, psychological, and educa ional
aspec s o be e se e amilies. These conclusions can be also be ans e ed o he
u u e wi h an inclusi e ca e o amily se ings om hose h ee pa ame e s.
Keywo ds: COVID-19, anxie y, cogni i e empa hy, amilies, educa ion, social s esso s
INTRODUCTION
The cu en heal h eme gency due o COVID-19 has led o nume ous coun ies, and, abo e all,
o Spain, o dec ee e y d as ic measu es o house con inemen (Gobie no de España, 2020). Li e
as i was known un il now has been pa alyzed. Only he wo k o p oduce essen ial se ices and
p oduc s has been allowed and elewo k has p e ailed o e on-si e wo k. All hese measu es ha e
had an impac on people social, amily, wo k, and educa ional li e in he ace o an unp eceden ed
si ua ion, which su ely will ha e psychological and sociological consequences on he popula ion, as
well as changes in educa ional me hods.
F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 1Ma ch 2021 | Volume 12 | A icle 562800
psyg-12-562800 Feb ua y 23, 2021 Time: 17:54 # 2
Quílez-Rob es e al. Anxie y and Cogni i e Empa hy: COVID-19
Recen ly, s udies ha e been published ha show how he
COVID-19 pandemic is a ec ing he popula ion heal h. The
biopsychosocial model de ends he need o a end no only
o physiological symp oms (Guan e al., 2020; Holshue e al.,
2020) bu also o psychological and social elemen s such as:
anxie y, dep ession, suicidal in en ions, panic diso de , loneliness
and psycho ic signs (Moghanibashi-Mansou ieh, 2020;Wang
e al., 2020;Wo ld Heal h O ganiza ion, (WHO), 2020) caused
bo h by he si ua ion o isola ion and by social consequences
such as unemploymen , in la ion and closu e o companies
(Moghanibashi-Mansou ieh, 2020). In his heo e ical e iew
Rajkuma (2020) shows he psychological consequences o
his si ua ion, highligh ing how he incidence o anxie y and
dep ession is inc easing. Likewise, he a gues he u gen need
o implemen speci ic in e en ions in ulne able popula ions:
child en, adolescen s and people wi h ew esou ces. Al hough
all age g oups p esen a some ex en psychological and social
symp oms, age is a de e mining a iable in he appea ance
and in ensi y o symp oms o psychological na u e, and so is
gende . In I an, Moghanibashi-Mansou ieh (2020) exposes how
he le el o anxie y in women is signi ican ly highe han in
men, also being highe in he g oup be ween 21 and 40 yea s
old, p edic ably because his is he mos economically a ec ed
g oup. Simila ly, he indica es ha he low le el o educa ion
inc eases he anxie y a e, and, also, he con inuous consump ion
o news ela ed o he co ona i us. On he o he hand, people
who ha e ela i es o acquain ances wi h COVID-19 a e also
se e ely a ec ed by his ype o psychopa hology. Simila ly, Wang
e al. (2020) ind ha in China, women a e he mos a ec ed
in e ms o psychosocial s ess, anxie y and dep ession. I is
necessa y o con ex ualize anxie y and s ess om he heo y o
amily s ess and coping heo y (Pa e son, 1988;Boss, 2001). In
addi ion, hese same au ho s, con empla e s ess as a concep ha
is no always nega i e, and ha obeys o he esponse o amily
adap a ion in a communi a ian and cul u al con ex including
ac o s o demands o no ma i e and no he mal cha ac e ,
un esol ed amily ensions and small daily annoyances. Aligned
wi h hese s udies, Taylo e al. (2008) ecall how in he “ lu
epidemic” (pig lu) hose people who li ed in a eas wi h a highe
a e o cases su e ed g ea e s ess, being he younges and less
educa ed people he g oup wi h he highes isk o his diso de .
I is ob ious ha con ex ual elemen s play an essen ial ole
in anxie y con ol in si ua ions o social isola ion de i ed om
na u al, poli ical o heal h eme gencies, as is he case o COVID-
19 c isis (Sugiu a e al., 2020). In hese si ua ions, in addi ion
o he main s esso , ha is he c isis i sel , au ho s such as
Lock and Go don (2012), add a se ies o seconda y s esso s
de i ed om he amily, social, economic, media o educa ional
con ex s ha can agg a a e hese anxie y si ua ions. These would
be: economic s esso s such as loss o income due o labo issues
(Eh lich e al., 2010; Picou and Hudson, 2010); s esso s ela ed
o amily o iends’ heal h du ing he eme gency (Kun e al.,
2010); s ess ela ed o excep ional educa ion and schooling in
hese si ua ions (Kilme and Gil-Ri as, 2010); s ess de i ed om
exposu e o ca as ophic in o ma ion p o ided by he media
(Lau e al., 2010); s esso s ela ed o he inc ease in amily
con lic s (I mansyah e al., 2010), unde s ood as he dispu es
be ween pa en s, pa en s and child en o among child en ha
cohabi a e (Eme y, 1992), o g ea e bu den on he dis ibu ion
o household cho es in some o he amily membe s (McDe mo ,
2010); anxie y de i ed om he loss o social con ac wi h iends
and colleagues and, consequen ly, educ ion o social capi al
(Wind e al., 2011); s ess de i ed om loss o leisu e and
ec ea ion (I mansyah e al., 2010); and he anxie y ela ed o
changes in people’s opinions abou he wo ld hey li e in o
abou hemsel es (Lock and Go don, 2012) owa ds a g ea e
pe cep ion o he democ a iza ion o isk (Beck, 1998). To hese
seconda y s esso s, he publica ion by Howa d e al. (2018) adds
in he amily con ex he ac o ca ing o he elde ly, people
wi h disabili ies, ha ing child en unde i e yea s-old, ha ing low
incomes and belonging o g oups wi h cul u al and linguis ically
di e se backg ounds.
On he o he hand, he empa hy is an impo an cons uc in
humani a ian c isis. This concep is de ined as: “empa hy allows
us o in e ac e ec i ely in he social wo ld” (Ba on-Cohen and
Wheelw igh , 2004, p.163). In his sense, social suppo among
g oup membe s is ela ed o highe le els o empa hy in hese
c isis si ua ions and, he e o e, lowe le els o anxie y bo h in who
helps and who is helped, ega dless o he pe sonali y associa ed
ac o s (Mane and Gaillio , 2007; Siedlecki e al., 2014;Sugiu a
e al., 2020). This is because, in c isis si ua ions, he human
being is eminen ly social and coope a i e (Glassman, 2000), so
p osocial beha io s in eme gency si ua ions a e common and
ha e a posi i e e ec on he psychological well-being o membe s
o he a ec ed communi y (A i i e al., 2012; Wel on-Mi chell
e al., 2016). This aspec is especially impo an in he p esen
si ua ion o con inemen , since amilies mus no only ca e o
hei child en, bu also o he amily membe s who a e ill (Po zio
e al., 2020) o wi h psychological diso de s (Cha e jee e al.,
2020), who a e mo e ulne able o he Co id-19.
Rega ding educa ional elemen s ela ed o s aying a home,
i is necessa y o e e o esea ch ela ed o home-schooling in
which he undamen al di e ence wi h he p e ious si ua ion
is he ee and esponsible op ion o being a home exe cising
educa ional unc ions wi h he social and psychological
epe cussions ha his en ails. Pe o ic and Rols ad (2017) allude
o he philosophical pa o he idea ha om home educa ion
au onomy and ci izen commi men can be add essed, aspec s
ha Rousseau and F ei e highligh (Molina, 2002). Toge he
wi h hese ideas, he bo om line is eedom and knowing how
o combine hem and c ea e syne gies be ween he indi idual
and he social (Go en, 2015). Al hough i is di icul o conduc
scien i ic s udies ela ed o his ype o eaching due o i s own
idiosync asy, we allude o ques ions ha appea in he e iewed
wo ks. The i s is ha making home schooling compa ible,
ega dless o whe he guidelines a e ollowed, ends up ha ing
be e emo ional and academic esul s (Neuman and Gu e man,
2016, 2017). Au ho s like DeRish e al. (2020) ag ee on he
ele ance o ex e nal e alua ions o s uden s so ha moni o ing
is be e o amilies and o app en ices. A his poin i is
necessa y o emembe he alue o he e alua ion as a way
o conside ing he eal si ua ion and imp o emen guidelines.
Al hough o he s udies such as Cheng and Donnelly’s (2019) do
no ind signi ican di e ences in he emo ional de elopmen
F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 2Ma ch 2021 | Volume 12 | A icle 562800
psyg-12-562800 Feb ua y 23, 2021 Time: 17:54 # 3
Quílez-Rob es e al. Anxie y and Cogni i e Empa hy: COVID-19
and socializa ion o child en schooled a home o in educa ional
cen e s. Howe e , i is decisi e o keep in mind ha anxie y in
mo he s who a end school a home can ha e a nega i e e ec on
a achmen (Zajac e al., 2020).
Re e ence has been made o his si ua ion o eal isola ion
(in en ional and obliga o y), highligh ing he epe cussion on
amilies a he social, wo k and educa ional le els, and his has
been linked o anxie y and empa hy as ou s anding a iables.
Thus, anxie y is unde s ood as a ansi o y emo ion cha ac e ized
by subjec i e eelings o ension and app ehension, which a e
consciously pe cei ed, accompanied by hype ac i i y o he
au onomic ne ous sys em ha can a y in in ensi y and o e
ime (Spielbe ge e al., 1982). On he o he hand, empa hy
is de ined as an abili y o pe cei e, unde s and and sha e
emo ions and s ands ou o i s ole in main aining ela ionships
and p osocial beha io s (Hau e al., 2019). The e o e, i s
impo ance o amily coexis ence in he cu en con inemen
si ua ion is highligh ed.
The objec i e o he cu en esea ch is: o s udy he impac
a psychological, educa ional and socio- amilial le el de i ed
om he COVID-19 pandemic in amilies. Tha is o say, o
analyze he di e en con ex ual a iables and hei impac on
he s a es o anxie y and cogni i e empa hy in con inemen .
The ollowing hypo heses a e expec ed o be es ed: di e en
socioeconomic a iables di ec ly a ec he s a es o anxie y and
cogni i e empa hy (Mane and Gaillio , 2007; Siedlecki e al.,
2014;Sugiu a e al., 2020). In addi ion, i is expec ed o ind
ha speci ic a iables such as wo k si ua ion, dis ibu ion o
household asks, ca e o people a isk and help o child en
in educa ional asks a e he a iables wi h g ea e p edic i e
weigh o empa hy and anxie y (Eh lich e al., 2010;I mansyah
e al., 2010;Kilme and Gil-Ri as, 2010;Kun e al., 2010;Lau
e al., 2010;Picou and Hudson, 2010). Finally, i is expec ed
o p o e a gende di e ence in e ms o empa hy and anxie y
p oduced by he change in he a iables p e iously men ioned
(Moghanibashi-Mansou ieh, 2020).
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Sample
The sample is composed o 145 amilies om he Au onomous
Communi y o A agon (Spain), ep esen ing a o al o 522 people,
and wi h a amily composi ion o 2 pa en s, o legal gua dians
wi h child en, who espond he ques ionnai es. The a e age age
o he adul pa icipan s is 42.52 (SD = 6.87) and 8.83 (SD = 6.32)
o he child en (Table 1). O hese, 32.4% had an only child,
63.9% wo, and 4.7% h ee o mo e child en. The selec ion
was he esul o a con enience and non-p obabilis ic snowball
sampling on a na ional le el, wi h a massi e esponse om a
single au onomous communi y (>90%), since he esea che s
belong o his egion. The pe cen age o pa icipa ion o amilies
om o he egions was e y low (4.2%). Likewise, nuclea -
ype amilies exceeded 90% o he sample. I was decided
o elimina e his da a because i is no ep esen a i e a a
na ional le el. The amilies excluded o no mee ing he selec ion
c i e ia ep esen ed 14.21% wi h a o al o 87 indi iduals. The
TABLE 1 | Signi ica e co ela ions o sociocul u al a iables and anxie y and
cogni i e empa hy.
Anxie y Cogni i e Empa hy
Anxie y 1 0.183*
Cogni i e Empa hy 0.183* 1
Age −0.257** −0.182*
Gende 0.257** 0.399**
Numbe o child en 0.004 0.166*
Child en Ages −0.167* −0.186*
Fa he ’s employmen s a us −0.091 −0.196*
Ga den/Te ace 0.169* −0.037
Inc ease o ime wa ching TV 0.166* −0.021
Inc ease o ime using he In e ne 0.302** 0.091
Mo he ’s hou s elewo king −0.002 0.236**
Time de o ed o homewo k 0.229** 0.216**
Cu en help o child en wi h school asks 0.276** 0.251**
Pas help o child en wi h school asks 0.163* 0.212*
Family con lic s 0.297** −0.074
Household cho es −0.193* 0.024
Child en’s use o echnological esou ces 0.101 0.171*
Assis ance o o he a - isk pe sons −0.026 0.184*
Mo he ’s help wi h school asks 0.335** 0.238**
Fa he ’s help wi h school asks 0.164* 0.157
*p <0.05, **p <0.01.
inclusion c i e ia we e: (1) amilies belonging o he Communi y
o A agon, (2) amilies made up o 2 pa en s wi h child en,
(3) ha hey o e hemsel es (4) ha he su ey can be sen
om he same add ess and in one go, and (5) ha hey send
all he ques ionnai es duly comple ed. The ques ionnai es we e
comple ed du ing he i s week o Ap il 2020. The Spanish
popula ion was s ic ly con ined o wo weeks. I was measu ed
a his ime because we wan ed o s udy he impac o his heal h
measu e, no i s ollow-up.
Resea ch P ocess
The s udy ecei ed he app o al o he E hics Commission o he
Uni e si y o Za agoza ac ing unde he guidelines o he E hics
Commi ee o he Au onomous Communi y o A agon. To do
ha , se e al phases we e conduc ed ha began in Ma ch 2020. In
he i s , in o ma ion explaining he na u e and objec i e o he
p ojec was launched massi ely on us ed social ne wo ks ela ed
o he educa ional ield: schools, ins i u es and uni e si ies, as
well as an in i a ion o pa icipa e o all hose amilies ha
we e in e es ed. In a second phase, hose who had exp essed
hei willingness o pa icipa e we e con ac ed by signing he
in o med consen , while ensu ing con iden iali y and anonymi y
ha espec ed he e hical p ocedu es o he Decla a ion o
Helsinki (Wo ld Medical Associa ion, 2001). The hi d phase
consis ed o sending he ques ionnai es (composed by ad hoc
socio-educa ional ques ionnai e, Beck Anxie y In en o y (BAI)
and cogni i e empa hy subscale o he EQ empa hy quo ien
scale) ha hey had o ill in online and anonymously. The
esponses we e eco ded on a digi al da a s o age base o
la e expo ing.
F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 3Ma ch 2021 | Volume 12 | A icle 562800
psyg-12-562800 Feb ua y 23, 2021 Time: 17:54 # 4
Quílez-Rob es e al. Anxie y and Cogni i e Empa hy: COVID-19
Ins umen s
Demog aphic and socio-educa ional ques ionnai e ad hoc, o
own elabo a ion. The ques ions we e ela ed o he ype
o amily s uc u e, numbe o child en, ype o home,
p o ession, employmen si ua ion du ing he c isis, amily
con lic s, household cho es, school homewo k, e c., I consis s
o 25 i ems and was e alua ed by a panel o expe s, eaching
an almos pe ec le el o ag eemen (k >0.81) ollowing he
indica ions by Cohen (2013). Subsequen ly, o co obo a e he
con o mi y o he esul s, a pos e alua ion was es ablished
using an ad iso y council and ollowing he c i e ia o he
communica i e me hodology. Wi h ega d o he panel o
expe s, he le el o ag eemen o conco dance was calcula ed
h ough he Kappa index, ob aining a alue o 0.72 ("good"
conco dance o ce). A poo conco dance is conside ed o alues
less han 0.20, weak o 0.21–0.40, mode a e o 0.41–0.60, good o
0.61–0.80 and e y good o alues highe han 0.81 On he o he
hand, he in e nal eliabili y o he ad hoc su ey was analyzed
h ough C onbach’s Alpha index eaching alues o 0.62, wi h
mode a e o high eliabili y.
Beck’s anxie y in en o y (BAI) in i s Spanish adap a ion
by Sanz e al. (2005). I is designed o a collec ion o
in o ma ion in a sel - epo o ma ha allows measu ing he
deg ee o anxie y and he aspec s o symp oms less ela ed o
dep ession. Speci ically, i measu es anxie y de i ed om panic,
panic and gene alized anxie y diso de s ollowing he c i e ia
es ablished in he DSM-III-R. This ques ionnai e, dedica ed o
he measu emen o cogni i e and physiological anxie y consis s
o 21 i ems whose esponses a e e alua ed om 0 o 3, being
0 “absolu ely no ,” and 3 “se e ely.” Reliabili y indices ange
om 0.41 o 0.58.
Empa y Quo ien e (EQ), Cogni i e empa hy scale in i s
adap a ion o he Spanish e sion (Redondo and He e o-
Fe nández, 2018). The empa hy quo ien in o ms abou he
indi idual’s ease and willingness o cap u e and unde s and o he
people eelings and how hey a e a ec ed by hese eelings o
o he s. In his case, he s udy ocused on cogni i e empa hy,
so only his subscale was used. I consis ed o 7 i ems, alued
be ween 0 and 3, being 0 “absolu ely no ,” and 3 “se e ely.”
C onbach’s alpha alues o all subscales anged om 0.67 o 0.80.
S a is ical Analysis
S a is ical analysis was pe o med using he IBM SPSS S a is ics
o Windows so wa e ( e sion 25.0., IBM Cop., A monk,
NY, Uni ed S a es). Fi s , a desc ip i e analysis o he socio-
educa ional esponses epo ed was pe o med. I s pu pose was
o desc ibe he con ex o he cu en si ua ion in quali a i e
e ms. Subsequen ly, a compa ison was ob ained wi h he
anxie y and cogni i e empa hy a iables h ough analysis o
a iance (ANOVA). To es ablish he ela ionship be ween socio-
educa ional ac o s and psychological ac o s o anxie y and
cogni i e empa hy, a Pea son co ela ion analysis was ca ied
ou . To inish, a linea eg ession was pe o med o es ablish
a p edic i e model o amily and educa ional habi s wi h he
de elopmen o s a es o anxie y and empa hy in he cu en
si ua ion o heal h c isis. All signi ican co ela ions we e
included in he eg ession model conside ing a alue o p<0.05
as s a is ically signi ican . On he o he hand, linea eg essions
a e ca ied ou wi h s eps o wa d. In his way, we can de e mine
which elemen could be he mos impo an .
RESULTS
Socio-Educa ional Compa a i e
Desc ip i e Analysis
The quali a i e analysis o he socio-educa ional ques ionnai e
yields he ollowing esul s: Rega ding he pa en s’ le el o
educa ion, i is obse ed ha mo he s ha e uni e si y o
pos g adua e s udies in a pe cen age o 65.7%, 30.8% ha e
seconda y s udies, and 3.5% p ima y o basic s udies. These
da a di e wi h espec o he a he s since 47% o hem ha e
uni e si y s udies, 41.7% ha e seconda y educa ion s udies and
11.3% elemen a y.
Rega ding hei job occupa ion (Figu e 1), he emales
ecognize ha 40.2% o hem ha e an inde ini e con ac , and
males he 51.8% o hem. Tempo a y wo k is pe o med by
7.7% o women. In he sel -employed modali y, women a e 5.9%
and men 12.5%. On he o he hand, 8.3% o he emales a e
unemployed compa ed o he males, which ep esen s a 1.2% and
inally 2.4% o hem a e e i ed. Rega ding he p o ession, 26% o
women a e ci il se an s, compa ed o 19.6% o men, and 9.5%
a e engaged in household cho es wo k, ha in he case o he
males a e no epo ed. These di e ences be ween gende s a e
e iden when conduc ing a business ac i i y, whe e he e a e no
epo ed da a on women, bu on he male gende i ep esen s he
4.2%. These obse a ions aise again he deba e on he wage gap
and equali y and equi y be ween gende s. T aining da a is highe
o women, bu he unemploymen a e, uns able employmen ,
and occupa ion in household cho es accoun o 25.5% o hem.
Abou he cu en employmen si ua ion in he con inemen
si ua ion, he esul s a e simila be ween he gende s wi h espec
o elewo k (32.5% women; 31.5% men) and hose a ec ed by a
p o isional downsizing plan (12.4% women; 15.5% men). The e
is a di e ence in a endance a he wo kplace, whe e 17.2% o
women do so compa ed o 28% o men.
On he o he hand, he economic si ua ion o amilies in he
s a e o heal h ala m has unde gone some modi ica ion. 59.6%
o hem say ha he amily economy has been a ec ed du ing
his excep ional si ua ion, wi h he nega i e si ua ion being o a
se ious na u e in 27.8% o households.
A angemen he a e age sco es o he BAI scale, he esul s
de i ed om he i s 15 days o con inemen showed a
g ea e p esence o cogni i e-subjec i e s ess and anxie y in
he indi idual. In his sense, he mean anxie y (Mean:13.9,
SD:9.95) du ing he pe iod o con inemen was signi ican ly
highe han ha which would be expec ed o be ound in he
popula ion, acco ding o BAI c i e ia (Sanz e al., 2005). In o he
wo ds, anxie y a es sky ocke ed. This cogni i e de e minan
is wha made he ype o empa hy ocus on he cogni i e
cha ac e and ejec he emo ional elemen . The a e age a e was
(Mean: 13.12, SD: 3.87) a supe io alue in no mal condi ions
(Redondo and He e o-Fe nández, 2018).
F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 4Ma ch 2021 | Volume 12 | A icle 562800
psyg-12-562800 Feb ua y 23, 2021 Time: 17:54 # 5
Quílez-Rob es e al. Anxie y and Cogni i e Empa hy: COVID-19
FIGURE 1 | P ogeni o employmen si ua ion.
Rega ding he size o he house and he exis ence o a ga den
o e ace, 76.3% epo ed li ing in a dwelling la ge han 76
squa e me e s (21.9% <105; 34.9% be ween 76–90 and 19.5%
be ween 91–105) and 14.7% o amilies occupied smalle houses.
In addi ion, 37.3% o amilies did no ha e a la ge ga den o
e ace, which inc eases he possibili y o eeling anxie y and
seeing empa hic de elopmen al e ed. Fo his eason, an analysis
o a iance (ANOVA) was pe o med, showing ha he e was
a di e ence in he empa hy de eloped a his ime in ela ion
o he size o he dwelling (F= 3.047; p<0.05). Thus, people
li ing in a space less han 60 squa e me e s a e signi ican ly
a ec ed by he de elopmen o hei empa hy, ob aining an
a e age sco e o 9 compa ed o 13.406 o he o e all a e age
sco e. On he o he hand, no signi ican di e ences we e ound
ega ding he epe cussion o his a iable on he de elopmen
o anxie y. Rega ding he a iable o exis ence o ga den o
e ace in he home, he opposi e occu s since he e a e no
signi ican di e ences wi h empa hy, bu hey exis in anxie y,
when inc easing he eeling o con inemen (F= 4.228; p<0.05),
being g ea e in hose amilies ha don’ ha e a e ace o ga den
(M= 15.463).
The esul s on he use o leisu e ime du ing he ala m
si ua ion caused by he pandemic, indica e ha 63.8% o
esponden s admi o ha ing inc eased ele ision consump ion,
wi h he inc ease in he In e ne consump ion becoming e en
mo e d as ic, as i was epo ed by he 95.3% o he sample
(gene al amily), and 29.6% o hem assu ing ha his inc ease
has occu ed se e ely. Gi en hese esponse da a, a new ANOVA
analysis was ca ied ou on hese a iables and hei link wi h
anxie y and empa hic-cogni i e de elopmen , inding a s ong
impac on he inc ease in in e ne consump ion wi h espec
o anxie y (F= 4.779; p<0.01). Families who claimed no o
ha e inc eased hei In e ne use o o ha e done i e y sligh ly
epo ed mean anxie y sco es o 7.285 compa ed o sco es o
15.297 epo ed by hose amilies who ecognized a mode a ely
high o se e e inc ease o his consump ion.
In he educa ional ield and wi h espec o a iables ela ed
o amily hou s de o ed o child en’s school asks, 50.3% o he
amilies a i m dedica ing less han 4 h o hese asks. 17.8% o
hem a i m ha hey a e spending be ween 4 and 6 h, compa ed
o 7.7% who epo a daily dedica ion o mo e han 6 h. In
con as , 24.3% o amilies do no spend any ime moni o ing
hei child en’s homewo k. Di e ences in in ol emen be ween
he ma e nal and pa e nal igu e a e obse ed. 41.7% o a he s
claim no o help hei child en in he de elopmen o academic
ac i i ies compa ed o 71% o mo he s who do help hei child en.
In addi ion, as a esul o he cu en si ua ion, amily hou s
de o ed o academic de elopmen o child en has inc eased,
going om 13% be o e he heal h c isis o 29.6% in he cu en
si ua ion, as hey ecognize helping in such asks “always.”
This g ea e in ol emen and dedica ion, o he de imen o
he enjoymen o ee ime, can igge he inc ease o anxie y
s a es and empa hic de elopmen . An analysis o a iance inds
signi ican di e ences ha poin o he possibili y o a signi ican
inc ease in bo h anxie y and emo ional empa hy (F= 3.565;
p<0.05 and F= 3.114; p<0.05) ela ed o his inc ease in
pa en al in ol emen .
As o he a iables ela ed o amily coexis ence such as he
dis ibu ion o household cho es and he e olu ion o s agna ion
o amily con lic s in he cu en si ua ion, in 32.5% o he amilies
he mo he is s ill in cha ge o ca ying ou hese asks, compa ed
o 6.5% o he a he . Howe e , 61% o amilies ecognize ha in
he cu en si ua ion o con inemen , he dis ibu ion o asks is
mo e equi able, wi h 36.7% a i ming ha he asks a e ca ied
ou by bo h pa en s o legal gua dians and 24.3% ha he asks
a e ca ied ou by all he membe s o he amily. Rega ding he
F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 5Ma ch 2021 | Volume 12 | A icle 562800
psyg-12-562800 Feb ua y 23, 2021 Time: 17:54 # 6
Quílez-Rob es e al. Anxie y and Cogni i e Empa hy: COVID-19
exis ence o amily con lic s, 22.5% o he esponden s epo ha
hey ha e inc eased and 27.2% o hem ha hey ha e dec eased.
By linking hese da a wi h espec o he a iables o anxie y
and cogni i e empa hy, we ound new di e ences in he ANOVA
analysis, mainly wi h espec o anxie y (F= 6,276; p<0.001),
which inc eases in households whe e con lic s ha e in ensi ied
du ing he excep ional si ua ion and dec eases whe e asks a e
equally dis ibu ed.
Finally, ega ding he exis ence o a pe son a isk in he
ace o he heal h ala m caused by COVID-19 wi hin he
amily nucleus, 20.7% o he esponden s answe ed a i ma i ely,
adding in 7.8% o he cases ha hese people also needed help.
Ano he 27.8% o he sample had o a end someone a isk
ou side home. In his sense, an analysis o a iance (ANOVA)
de e mined he di e ence in e ms o cogni i e empa hy wi h
espec o his ac o (F= 5.000; p<0.005), u ning ou o be
signi ican and es ablishing he inc ease in empa hy in hose who
mus assis people in isk a he p esen ime. In con as , no
signi ican di e ences we e ound ha a ec ed he de elopmen
o anxie y s a es.
Co ela ional S a is ical Analysis
To es ablish he ela ionship be ween socio-educa ional and
psychological a iables such as anxie y and cogni i e empa hy,
a Pea son co ela ion analysis was pe o med (Table 1). A low
posi i e signi ican co ela ion is ound be ween hese las wo
a iables (0.183; p<0.05). The esul s es ablish a signi ican
nega i e co ela ion o anxie y and empa hy wi h age (-0.257,
p<0.01; −0.182, p<0.05), ha is, he olde he pa en s a e,
he lowe he le el o anxie y and empa hy will be. Gende
co ela ed signi ican ly wi h anxie y (0.257; p<0.01) and
wi h empa hy (0.399; p<0.01), emales ha e g ea e empa hic
capaci y and g ea e anxie y. The numbe o child en only
co ela es wi h empa hy (0.166; p<0.05), a highe numbe o
child en co ela es wi h mo e empa hy. In con as , he age o
he child en co ela es signi ican ly and nega i ely wi h anxie y (-
0.167; p<0.05) and wi h empa hy (-0.186; p<0.05), he younge
he child en, he g ea e i is he pa en s’ le el o anxie y and
empa hy. The a he ’s occupa ion only co ela es signi ican ly,
low, and nega i e, wi h empa hy. The highe a he ’s employmen
s a us is, he lowe le el o empa hy owa ds he membe s o
his amily. On con a y, mo he ’s hou s o elewo k p esen s a
signi ican posi i e co ela ion wi h empa hy (0.236; p<0.01),
indica ing ha he g ea e he numbe o hou s elewo king, he
g ea e he abili y o empa hize.
On he o he hand, he ime dedica ed o school asks by he
child en co ela es signi ican ly wi h anxie y (0.229; p<0.01)
and wi h empa hy (0.216; p<0.01). The same happens in he
assis ance p o ided by pa en s, a p esen ime, o ca y ou
hese school asks (0.276; p<0.01; 0.251; p<0.01) and he
help p o ided be o e he c isis (0.163; p<0.05;0.212; p<0.05).
The di e ence is ha he mo he ’s help co ela es signi ican ly
posi i ely wi h anxie y (0.335; p<0.01) and wi h empa hy
(0.238; p<0.01), and a he ’s help co ela es only wi h anxie y
(0.164; p<0.05). Pa en al in ol emen an inc ease in pa en s’
anxie y and, a he same ime, empa hy owa ds hei child en’s
eelings. In u n, he ime spen helping hei child en inc eases
anxie y in he a he and mo he , bu empa hic de elopmen
owa ds hei child en only occu s in he case o he mo he .
The a iables o he exis ence o a ga den o e ace in he
home (0.169; p<0.05), longe ime wa ching ele ision (0.166;
p<0.05) and inc ease in in e ne use (0.302; p<0.01) only
co ela e wi h anxie y in a signi ican ly posi i e way, being low
o he i s wo, and mode a e o he las one. On he o he
hand, amily con lic s show a signi ican posi i e co ela ion
wi h anxie y (0.297; p<0.01). These a iables pose a isk ha
nega i ely a ec s anxie y, al e ing amily li e. In con as , he
child en’s use o echnological esou ces co ela es signi ican ly
wi h empa hy and in a low posi i e way (0.171; p<0.05),
which implies an inc ease in empa hy be ween hem. Ano he
a iable ha a ec s amily li e is he pe o mance o household
cho es. This a iable co ela es signi ican ly and nega i ely wi h
anxie y (-0.193; p<0.05), ha is, wi h less collabo a ion om
o he s, anxie y inc eases in he pe son in cha ge o hem.
Finally, assis ance o o he a - isk pe sons ou side amily home
co ela es signi ican ly and in a low way wi h empa hy (0.184;
p<0.05). The e o e, assis ing people a isk ou side home
inc eases empa hic capaci y.
S a is ical Reg ession Analysis
Two eg ession analysis we e conduc ed using he me hod o
successi e s eps o wa d. The i s was based on a p edic i e
model o anxie y due o socio-educa ional causes in he con ex o
cu en con inemen (Table 2). The second elabo a es a p edic i e
model o he de elopmen o cogni i e empa hy in he same
ci cums ances (Table 3).
In he anxie y p edic ion model, R2 alues o 0.211 we e
ob ained, which means an explana o y capaci y on he a iance
o 21.1%. The a iables ha we e signi ican o anxie y caused
by he cu en si ua ion we e gende (β= 0.186; p<0.05),
child en’s a e age age (β= 0.151; p<0.05), mo he ’s help wi h
homewo k (β= 0.249; p<0.001) and he inc ease o he In e ne
use (β= 0.252; p<0.001) (Table 2).
Reg ession Model o P edic ing Anxie y
Fo he p edic i e model o cogni i e empa hy, R2 alues
o 0.274 we e ob ained, explaining he 27.4% o he a iance.
The signi ican a iables o his model we e gende (β= 0.377;
p<0.001), child en’s a e age age (β= 0.181; p<0.05), help
in he cu en si ua ion wi h homewo k (β= 0.159; p<0.05),
mo he ’s elewo king hou s (β= 0.178; p<0.05) and he ac
o assis ing o he a - isk pe sons ou o home (β= -0.185 y
p<0.05) (Table 3).
DISCUSSION
The main indings o his esea ch a e ha : anxie y de i ed
om he pandemic si ua ion is explained by gende , he le el o
In e ne consump ion, he inc ease in amily con lic s and help
wi h homewo k. Cogni i e empa hy is explained by gende and
mo he ’s elewo king hou s.
The s a e o con inemen has mean a new home s uc u ing
o amilies, becoming a place o wo k, upb inging, and ca e o
F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 6Ma ch 2021 | Volume 12 | A icle 562800
psyg-12-562800 Feb ua y 23, 2021 Time: 17:54 # 7
Quílez-Rob es e al. Anxie y and Cogni i e Empa hy: COVID-19
TABLE 2 | Reg ession model o p edic ing anxie y.
Model S anda dized coe icien s Sig. 95% con idence in e al o B
βLowe limi Uppe limi VIF
1 Mo he ’s help wi h homewo k 0.335 4.25 0 2.501 6.849 1
2 Mo he ’s help wi h homewo k 0.303 3.955 0 2.112 6.334 1.015
Inc ease o he In e ne use 0.265 3.466 0.001 1.316 4.812 1.015
3 Mo he ’s help wi h homewo k 0.277 3.629 0 1.758 5.964 1.038
Inc ease o he In e ne use 0.242 3.179 0.002 1.056 4.532 1.034
Gende −0.176 −2.293 0.023 −7.006 −0.519 1.046
4 Mo he ’s help wi h homewo k 0.249 3.254 0.001 1.366 5.595 1.072
Inc ease o he In e ne use 0.252 3.341 0.001 1.189 4.637 1.038
Gende −0.186 −2.456 0.015 −7.215 −0.78 1.052
Child en’s a e age age −0.151 −2.004 0.047 −0.445 −0.003 1.038
TABLE 3 | Reg ession model o p edic ing cogni i e anxie y.
Model S anda dized coe icien s Sig. 95,0% con idence in e al o B
βLowe limi Uppe limi VIF
1 Gende −0.399 −5.198 0 −4.814 −2.161 1
Gende −0.392 −5.269 0 −4.712 −2.141 1.001
2 Cu en help o child en 24. 3.229 0.002 0.322 1.338 1.001
Gende −0.372 −5.029 0 −4.531 −1.974 1.016
Cu en help o child en 0.221 2.996 0.003 0.26 1.27 1.015
3 Mo he ’s elewo king hou s 0,163 2.185 0.031 0.051 1.023 1.03
Gende −0.366 −5.022 0 −4.464 −1.942 1.017
Cu en help o child en 0.2 2.725 0.007 0.19 1.193 1.031
4 Mo he ’s elewo king hou s 0.179 2.435 0.016 0.111 1.074 1.041
Assis ance o o he a - isk pe sons ou o home −0.166 −2.27 0.025 −2.695 −0.186 1.025
Gende −0.377 −5.251 0 −4.536 −2.055 1.021
Cu en help o child en 0.159 2.154 0.033 0.045 1.056 1.085
5 Mo he ’s elewo king hou s 0.178 2.452 0.015 0.114 1.059 1.041
Assis ance o o he a - isk pe sons ou o home −0.185 −2.565 0.011 −2.848 −0.369 1.037
Child en’s a e age age −0181 −2.467 0,015 −0.197 −0.022 1.064
bo h child en (Zhang e al., 2020) and sick ela i es (Cha e jee
e al., 2020; Po zio e al., 2020). This s udy desc ibes he
cu en amily si ua ion whe e pa en s, in a 50%, ha e had
o op o elewo king o hey a e a ec ed by a p o isional
downsizing plan and all child en con inue hei s udies a home
h ough he use o ICT. I is also e iden ha , ega ding
he le el o s udies and ype o modali y o pa en s’ job,
despi e he ac ha women ha e a highe le el o educa ion,
hey a e also hose who p esen he highes pe cen age in
empo a y jobs o unemploymen . On he con a y, men a e
hose who ha e inde ini e jobs and conduc business ac i i ies.
Rega ding pe o ming household cho es and ca ing o people
a isk, women s ill mainly do hese asks. These esul s a e
he consequence o a socio-cul u al adi ion ha a ibu es
s e eo ype and s a ic oles based on gende (Bloss eld and
Kie nan, 2019;McDe mo e al., 2019). Rega ding he a iables
ha a ec amily li e, he economic si ua ion has been a ec ed
in mo e han he 50% o households, and ele ision and
in e ne consump ion has inc eased as an al e na i e o ou doo
leisu e. On he o he hand, i is shown ha mos o he
esponden s li ed in houses o less han 76 squa e me e s,
bu only a hi d o hem did no ha e a ga den o e ace.
Rega ding amily con lic s, he e is no unanimi y, since, in
he same p opo ion, hey indica e ha hey ha e inc eased
as well as dec eased (be ween 20 and 25%), he e o e i is
inconsis en wi h s udies ha indica e ha his ype o si ua ion
gene a es s ess ha causes an inc ease in amily con lic s
(I mansyah e al., 2010).
Anxie y is one o he main consequences o he COVID-19
pandemic, wi h he emales and young adul s being especially
ulne able (Moghanibashi-Mansou ieh, 2020;Rajkuma , 2020;
Wang e al., 2020). In his sense, olde age means be e c isis
managemen (Kang, 2014), being da a ha a e aligned wi h ou
esul s. To he abo e we mus add ha he lack o a ga den
o e ace ha supposes a g ea e eeling o con inemen , he
inc ease in hou s wa ching he ele ision as an al e na i e o
ou doo ac i i ies, dedica ing mo e hou s o ca ying ou school
asks and helping child en wi h hem ( o a lesse ex en by
F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 7Ma ch 2021 | Volume 12 | A icle 562800
psyg-12-562800 Feb ua y 23, 2021 Time: 17:54 # 8
Quílez-Rob es e al. Anxie y and Cogni i e Empa hy: COVID-19
a he s), and an inc ease in amily con lic s, lead o in ensi ica ion
o anxie y le els in con ined pe sons. These da a a e in line
wi h hose p o ided by Lock and Go don (2012) since he
c isis si ua ion is agg a a ed by e ec s de i ed om he amily
con ex and wi h hose by I mansyah e al. (2010) ela ed o he
loss o hou s o leisu e and ou doo ec ea ion. On he o he
hand, he p edic i e model exposes ha no only gende is an
explana o y elemen , since he e a e o he con ex ual and socio-
amily elemen s ha can signi ican ly a ec s ess and anxie y in
his ype o si ua ion, as sugges ed by Sugiu a e al. (2020). Fo
example, he child en’s a e age age ( he younge hey a e, he
highe pa en s’ anxie y le els), mo he ’s help in school asks and
inc ease in he use o In e ne a e ac o s ha also in luence
he de elopmen o s a es o anxie y in he cu en si ua ion.
These elemen s a e aligned wi h p e ious esea ch, in which
poin ed ou as s esso s we ind: ha ing child en unde 5 yea s-
old (Howa d e al., 2018), excep ional educa ion and schooling
in hese si ua ions (Kilme and Gil-Ri as, 2010), o he unequal
dis ibu ion o household cho es (McDe mo , 2010). Rega ding
he ole o he In e ne in his p ocess, i is necessa y o e e ence
how i s ema kable g ow h has been pai ed wi h ala ming igu es
o addic ion wo ldwide, and i s consequences in he inc ease o
dep ession and anxie y (Cheng and Li, 2014; Al Mamun and
G i i hs, 2019;Lozano-Blasco and Co és-Pascual, 2020). The
In e ne is he key o a new en i onmen whe e a mul i ude o
ac i i ies a e ca ied ou , om shopping o es ablishing a ec i e
ela ionships (Ki aly e al., 2015) and in a con ined en i onmen ,
ne wo ks o e he main enance o los daily li e: wo k, consume
goods and se ices, o a ending o he educa ion o child en.
Al hough, i should be bo ne in mind ha no m- ypical human
beha io can be al e ed by i s con inuous in e ac ion in he cloud
(King e al., 2013; He e al., 2017).
On he o he hand, he highes le els o empa hy, in c isis
si ua ions, a e ela ed o he g ea e suppo among he membe s
o he amily uni , which is gene a ed especially in hose who
ca y ou a g ea e p opo ion o help, wo k o assis ance
(Siedlecki e al., 2014). In hese ypes o si ua ions, a posi i e
e ec a ises in hose wi h he highes coope a i e commi men
(Glassman, 2000). In his sense, he esul s ob ained in his
esea ch coincide wi h hese p e ious s udies since, as indica ed
abo e, being mo he , ha ing younge child en, as well as hei
numbe , mo he ’s elewo king hou s, ime helping wi h school
asks (especially o he mo he s), ha ing echnological esou ces
and assis ance o people a isk ou side home, a e posi i ely
associa ed wi h empa hy. The p edic i e model indica es ha
cogni i e empa hy is modula ed by gende (g ea e empa hy
in women), he a e age age o he child en ( he younge he
child en, he g ea e he empa hy), cu en help wi h school
asks, assis ance o people a isk ou side home and mo he s’
hou s o elewo king, a iables ha inc ease hese le els o
empa hy. Empa hy wi hin pa en al ela ionships is explained
by he s eng h o he ela ionship be ween hem and by he
gene a ion o esponse o a ec i e s a es, being in ull ag eemen
wi h esea ch such as he one by Eisenbe g and Mille (1987) and
Ve ho s ad e al. (2008). On he o he hand, i has some imes
been ound ha he le el o educa ion p edic s he le el o
empa hy (Hau e al., 2019) and in he p esen s udy i has al eady
been poin ed ou ha he sample o med by emales had highe
academic le els han males.
In ela ion o he i s wo a iables, gende and age o
he child en, he e would be a co espondence wi h he le els
o anxie y, since, as speci ied, he ac o being a woman
and ha ing younge child en inc eases anxie y (Howa d e al.,
2018;Moghanibashi-Mansou ieh, 2020; Rajkuma , 2020;Wang
e al., 2020), bu empa hy also inc eases wi h hese a iables,
explaining he co ela ion es ablished be ween bo h a iables o
anxie y and empa hy. Rega ding he a iables ela ed o help
o collabo a ion wi h o he s, assis ance o o he people-a - isk
ou side home and he help o child en wi h school asks a e key
ac o s in modula ing cogni i e empa hy, so ha i is inc eased
in hese si ua ions, bu almos exclusi ely in emales. In his
sense, al hough au ho s such as Mane and Gaillio (2007),
Po zio e al. (2020),Siedlecki e al. (2014), and Sugiu a e al.
(2020) poin ou ha assis ing amily membe s can be a majo
s esso in eme gency si ua ions (also in he case o ou s udy,
whe e he mo he ’s school help was also an anxie y ac o ),
in gene al, publica ions on his ma e ha e been ocused on
how he social suppo ne wo k ( amily, iends, communi y
membe s) is an elemen o g ea ele ance when managing
s ess si ua ions de i ed om di e en ypes o c ises. These
wo examples o p osocial beha io s, common in eme gency
si ua ions (A i i e al., 2012;Wel on-Mi chell e al., 2016), a e a
ac o p omo ing empa hy and coope a i e spi i in he ace o
ad e si y (Zakou and Gillespie, 2012;Kim and Zakou , 2017).
In o he wo ds, he human being has he abili y o inc ease his
cogni i e empa hy in he momen s o g ea es need in c isis
si ua ions (Glassman, 2000), seeking he psychological well-being
o he g oup (A i i e al., 2012;Wel on-Mi chell e al., 2016)
ha ing a posi i e e ec on bo h he pe son helping and he pe son
being helped (Mane and Gaillio , 2007; Siedlecki e al., 2014,
Sugiu a e al., 2020). This las elemen is e i ied in ou s udy in
he inc ease o empa hy when helping child en in school asks.
Las ly, he mo he ’s hou s o elewo king seem o be an elemen
ha p omo es empa hy, and can be ela ed o he ac o no
ha ing los a job and ha ing a g ea e ease o econciling wo k and
pe sonal li e in an eme gency si ua ion, being aligned wi h s udies
such as hose by Eh lich e al. (2010),Howa d e al. (2018), and
Picou and Hudson (2010).
Rega ding he limi a ions o he s udy, he u gency o he
si ua ion, he sampling me hod, and he ecep ion o a majo i y
esponse om only one egion in Spain can cause he sample
o be sligh ly biased. Howe e , he esul s p esen op imal
indica o s and seem o be aligned wi h he li e a u e (Glassman,
2000;Mane and Gaillio , 2007;A i i e al., 2012;Siedlecki
e al., 2014; Wel on-Mi chell e al., 2016;Sugiu a e al., 2020).
Rega ding p ospec i e, a epe i ion o he s udy once he pe iod o
con inemen has ended and he popula ion will adap o he new
no mali y, would se e o e i y whe he his c isis has changed
he socio- amily dynamics and he le els o empa hy and anxie y
o he popula ion.
We conside wha esponse we gi e om educa ion, science,
and socie y o a end hese momen s o eme gency and ha a e
linked o no ma i e o cul u al elemen s. I would ha e o be
ans e sal, ega dless o he momen in which one li es, empa hy
F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 8Ma ch 2021 | Volume 12 | A icle 562800
psyg-12-562800 Feb ua y 23, 2021 Time: 17:54 # 9
Quílez-Rob es e al. Anxie y and Cogni i e Empa hy: COVID-19
owa ds he complex si ua ions o o he people, he sea ch o
emo ional balance, compassion and ac ions linked o jus ice and
social well-being. In and a e his c isis, we can ake many
posi i e aspec s o implemen in amilies and in socie y, such
as knowing how o wo k as a amily eam, espec ing emo ional
singula i ies and looking o he con agion e ec o he es o
social a eas. An example o his is he lib osqueunen.o g p ojec
in which a bond is c ea ed wi h he amily in a si ua ion o
educa ional disconnec ion due o he digi al di ide. I has been
p o en ha we a e able o inc ease ou empa hy and egula e
ou anxie y, al hough we need mo e o mal and non- o mal
educa ion in his line, aking in o accoun all he ac o s ha a e
included in a amily, and ha a e no only he amily membe s o
he "school inside he house” elemen s, bu also he echnological,
media and social ne wo king si es.
CONCLUSION
Wi h his esea ch we app oach he cu en si ua ion o
con inemen in Spanish socie y mo i a ed by COVID-19 c isis.
Fo his, a s udy o he social, psychological, and educa ional
impac on amilies is conduc ed. Undoub edly, he esul s
highligh he inequali ies ha s ill exis wi hin he amily sphe e.
De i ed om ou da a, we could hypo hesize ha he mo he
igu e con inues o bea he bu den o wo k a home and
she is he sus enance ha main ains amily ela ionships and
ha monious coexis ence. The a he igu e con inues o es ablish
his wo k ela ionships as a p io i y, occupying a seconda y place
in he ela ionship wi h child en and adul s. Anxie y inc eases
in s ange si ua ions in his con ex and empa hy, especially by
emales, dampens he s ess caused. Al hough au ho s such as
Howa d e al. (2018) and Sugiu a e al. (2020) lis a g ea e
a ie y o s esso s ela ed o he pe sonal, amily, social and
wo k en i onmen han hose iden i ied in his s udy, he
uniqueness o he global eme gency si ua ion caused by he
COVID-19 c isis, jus i ies ha he assimila ion o his si ua ion
o o he p e ious eme gencies is no possible. Al hough many
o he s udies collec ed in his esea ch analyze excep ional
si ua ions (heal h eme gencies, na u al disas e s, socio-poli ical
con lic s), he cha ac e is ics and global na u e o his c isis
places us in a new scena io, in which he u hs assumed up
o now a e ques ioned. As Beck (1998) s a ed in he cu en
Risk Socie y hese new h ea s, de i ed om human ac ion,
shake he cen al componen s o socie y, mo i a ing a se ies
o deba es and e o mula ions ha science and socie y mus
join ly explo e.
DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT
The aw da a suppo ing he conclusions o his a icle will be
made a ailable by he au ho s, wi hou undue ese a ion.
ETHICS STATEMENT
The s udies in ol ing human pa icipan s we e e iewed and
app o ed by CEICA (Comi é É ico de In es igación Clínica
en A agón) del Gobie no de A agón and Uni e sidad de
Za agoza (ACUERDO de 2 de ab il de 2020, del Ge en e de la
Uni e sidad de Za agoza, po la que se ap ueba el T a amien o de
da os pe sonales “Moni o ización del Co id-19: Impac o social,
psicológico y educa i o”). The pa ien s/pa icipan s p o ided
hei w i en in o med consen o pa icipa e in his s udy.
AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS
AQ-R coo dina ed he design and esea ch p ocess. AQ-R and
RL-B designed he psychological esea ch. TÍ-B designed he
sociological ques ionnai e. AC-P he educa ional one. AQ-R
and RL-B ca ied ou he s a is ical analysis. RL-B, AC-P, and
TÍ-B ca ied ou he heo e ical amewo k, discussion and
conclusion. All au ho s con ibu ed o he a icle and app o ed
he submi ed e sion.
REFERENCES
A i i, W. A., Felix, E. D., and A i i, T. D. (2012). The impac o unce ain y and
communal coping on men al heal h ollowing na u al disas e s. Anxie y S ess
Coping 25, 329–347. doi: 10.1080/10615806.2011.603048
Al Mamun, M. A., and G i i hs, M. D. (2019). The associa ion be ween acebook
addic ion and dep ession: a pilo su ey s udy among bangladeshi s uden s.
Psychia y Res. 271, 629–633. doi: 10.1016/j.psych es.2018.12.039
Ba on-Cohen, S., and Wheelw igh , S. (2004). The empa hy quo ien : an
in es iga ion o adul s wi h aspe ge synd ome o high unc ioning au ism, and
no mal sex di e ences. J. Au ism De . Diso d. 34, 163–175. doi: 10.1023/b:
jadd.0000022607.19833.00
Beck, U. (1998). “Poli ics o isk socie y,” in En i onmen alism. C i ical Concep s,
eds D. Peppe , F. Webs e , and G. Re ill (London: Rou ledge-Taylo & F ancis
G oup), 256–266.
Bloss eld, H. P., and Kie nan, K. (2019). The New Role o Women: Family Fo ma ion
in Mode n Socie ies. New Yo k, NY: Rou ledge-Taylo & F ancis G oup.
Boss, P. (2001). Family S ess Managemen . Newbu yPa k, CA: Sage.
Cha e jee, S. S., Ba ika , C. M., and Mukhe jee, A. (2020). Impac o COVID-
19 pandemic on p e-exis ing men al heal h p oblems. Asian J. Psychia .
51:102071. doi: 10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102071
Cheng, A., and Donnelly, M. (2019). New on ie s in esea ch and p ac ice on
homeschooling. Peabody J. Educ. 94, 259–262. doi: 10.1080/0161956X.2019.
1617576
Cheng, C., and Li, A. Y. (2014). In e ne addic ion p e alence and quali y o ( eal)
li e: a me aanalysis o 31 na ions ac oss se en wo ld egions. Cybe psychol.
Beha . Soc. Ne w. 17, 755–760. doi: 10.1089/cybe .2014.0317
Cohen, J. (2013). S a is ical Powe Analysis o he Beha io al Sciences, 2nd Edn.
New Yo k, NY: Rou ledge.
DeRish, R. M., K a ochwill, T. R., and Ga bacz, S. A. (2020). The e icacy
o p oblem-sol ing consul a ion o homeschooled s uden s wi h beha io
conce ns. Sch. Psychol. 35, 28–40. doi: 10.1037/spq0000339
Eh lich, M., Ha ille, E., Xiong, X., Buekens, P., P idjian, G., and Elkind-Hi sch, K.
(2010). Loss o esou ces and hu icane expe ience as p edic o s o pos pa um
dep ession among women in sou he n Louisiana. J. Womens Heal h 19, 877–
884. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2009.1693
Eisenbe g, N., and Mille , P. A. (1987). The ela ion o empa hy o p osocial
and ela ed beha io s. Psychol. Bull. 101, 91–119. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.
101.1.91
Eme y, R. E. (1992). “Family con lic s and hei de elopmen al implica ions:
a concep ual analysis o meanings o he s uc u e o ela ionships,” in
Camb idge S udies in Social and Emo ional De elopmen .Con lic in Child and
F on ie s in Psychology | www. on ie sin.o g 9Ma ch 2021 | Volume 12 | A icle 562800