Parents are more stressed out and are reporting higher levels of anxiety and depression due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a newly published study led by Campbell University Professor of Clinical Research Dr. Miranda van Tilburg. 

The results shouldn’t come as a surprise — especially for parents who have had to deal with school closures, jobs losses and interruptions in medical care for their children since March — but they do back the nation’s mental health concerns with scientific data and make the argument for increased mental health care in the country. 

“People might wonder, ‘We know we’re more stressed. Why are you telling me this?’ but in science, we always have to show the numbers,” van Tilburg says. “And I think it also validates a lot of parents and tells them they’re not alone. It’s normal to feel this way during this pandemic. A lot of people are struggling.”