Situations of family vulnerability and the COVID-19 pandemic

Context. - Aware of the difficulties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic for many families with children aged 6 or under, this study focuses on three contexts of potential vulnerability: single parenthood, children with developmental disorders, poverty.Method. - A questionnaire, consisting of 69 questions, was transmitted nationally during the first lockdown (from 17 March to 10 May 2020). Among the study sample (n = 490), 36 households were single-parent, and 93 families had a child with developmental impairments. From November 2020 to June 2021, a additional qualitative approach was used to reach the most vulnerable groups (n = 23).Results. - The methodology adopted made it possible to identify modes of experience that converge across families in the three contexts (more strengthened intrafamily relationships and investment in protection measures, for example), and others that appear more specific: pressure felt and need for information for single parent households and those with children with developmental disorders, the burden of home schooling for single-parent households and the poorest, social isolation for single-parent households and difficulties in maintaining the previous food budget for the most precarious.Conclusion. - The various pressures felt, the housing (with or without outdoor spaces) and working conditions, the fear of being sick, the negative feelings, etc. must encourage public authorities to implement psychological support mechanisms, particularly for the most vulnerable parents, in order to avoid subsequent physi-cal and/or psychological health problems or even post-traumatic symptoms for parents and their children.(c) 2022 Societe Franc , aise de Psychologie. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.