Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39854726›Full record

ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2025

Parental Mental Health and Child Maltreatment in the COVID-19 Pandemic: Importance of Sampling in a Quantitative Statistical Study.

Lara Engelke, Claudia Calvano, Steffi Pohl, Sibylle Maria Winter, Babette Renneberg

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Lara EngelkeClinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0009-0006-6134-9646
Claudia CalvanoClinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-2423-9174
Steffi PohlDivision Methods and Evaluation, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0002-5178-8171
Sibylle Maria Winter *German Center for Mental Health (DZPG), Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0001-8549-6284
Babette Renneberg *Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Education and Psychology, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.ORCID 0000-0003-2177-3566

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundResults on parental burden during the COVID-19 pandemic are predominantly available from nonrepresentative samples. Although sample selection can significantly influence results, the effects of sampling strategies have been largely underexplored.

objectiveThis study aimed to investigate how sampling strategy may impact study results. Specifically, we aimed to (1) investigate if outcomes on parental health and child maltreatment during the COVID-19 pandemic from a convenience sample differ from those of a specific representative sample and (2) investigate reasons for differences in the results.

methodsIn 2020, we simultaneously conducted 2 studies: (1) a web-based survey using a convenience sample of 4967 parents of underage children, primarily recruited via social media, and (2) a study using a quota sample representative of the German adult population with underage children (N=1024), recruited through a combination of telephone interviews and computer-assisted web interviews. In both studies, the same questionnaire was used. To evaluate the impact of sampling, we compared the results on outcomes (parental stress, subjective health, parental mental health, general stress, pandemic-related stress, and the occurrence of child maltreatment) between the 2 samples. To explain differences in the results between the 2 studies, we controlled for sociodemographic data, parent-related risk factors, and COVID-19-related experiences.

resultsCompared to parents from the quota sample, parents from the convenience sample reported significantly more parental stress (η

conclusionsResults of studies can be heavily impacted by the sampling strategy. Scientists are advised to collect relevant explaining variables (covariates) that are possibly related to sample selection and the outcome under investigation. This approach enables us to identify the individuals to whom the results apply and to combine findings from different studies. Furthermore, if data on the distribution of these explanatory variables in the population are available, it becomes possible to adjust for sample selection bias.

Indexed as

Child AbuseCOVID-19Mental HealthParentsAdolescentAdultChildFemaleGermanyHumansMaleMiddle AgedPandemicsSampling StudiesSARS-CoV-2Stress, Psychologicalchild maltreatmentconvenience sampleCOVID-19data collection methodsparental mental healthparental stresssampling methodsweb-based surveys

Identifiers

PMID39854726
PMCPMC11806267

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.