Spillover effect in caregivers of 1.5 to 5 year old infants during the COVID-19 pandemic

Introduction: Infants perceive and reproduce the emotions of their parents, this effect is known as the Spillover theory. The objective of the present study was to correlate the degree of anxiety in parents with the degree of anxiety / depression in children aged 1.5 to 5 years old, during the SARS-COV2 pandemic. Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive, cross-sectional study carried out through an online form with a snowball sampling. To measure the level of anxiety in caregivers / parents, the BECK anxiety scale was used and to measure the level of anxiety in infants we used the anxiety sections of the Child Behavior Questionnaire from 1.5 to 5 years. Data were analyzed in SPS.S The correlation between parental and child anxiety was made by the Spearman Correlation. Informed consent of the participants was requested. Results: 29 parents-caregivers who answered the questionnaire were included. 72.4% of the caregiver / parents presented moderate to severe anxiety. The correlation between parental and children's anxiety was 0.435 p = 0.018. The relationship between the children's anxiety / depression level with the infant's anxious attachment was 0.653 p=0.0001. Conclusions: Our findings suggest a high level of anxiety in caregivers. The correlation with anxiety in children was moderate. Anxiety and depression in children were related to anxious attachment.