Table 3

Details of measurement for parent, parenting and family variables

Measure (items)SubscalesScaleExample itemPsychometric properties
COVID-19 items
HouseholdCOVID-19 diagnosis, test result or symptoms‘Yes, and had a positive test’; ‘Yes, and had a negative test’; ‘Yes, had a medical diagnosis, but no test’; ‘Yes, had some possible symptoms, but no diagnosis by a doctor’; ‘No symptoms or signs’‘During the past 2 weeks have you or anyone in your household been suspected of having a COVID-19 infection?’ 
About adultChange in work or study circumstances; participant or family members affected by COVID-19; working from home; frequency and type of contact with work colleagues ‘Has your work or study situation changed since the COVID-19 pandemic?’ ‘During the past 2 weeks have you or anyone in your household been suspected of having a COVID-19 infection?’ 
About childWhether school classes are running on campus; school attendance on campus or online. For children homeschooling: whether child is home with parent while they work; child’s internet/computer access at home; parent’s rating of how well they are managing child’s home learning; time spent outside ‘During the past 2 weeks has your child’s school building been closed?’ ‘How much time is your child spending outside of the home (eg, going to stores, parks, etc.)?’ 
Parent emotion socialisation
The Parents’ Beliefs about Children’s Emotions Questionnaire20 (26 items)Five subscales: Value of Anger; Manipulation; Control; Autonomy; StabilitySix-point scale from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’‘Children use emotions to manipulate others’USA,20; Turkey (α=0.60–0.77)57
The short-form of the Self-Expressiveness in the Family Questionnaire58 (24 items)Two subscales: positive and negative expressivenessNine-point scale from ‘not at all frequently in my family’ to ‘very frequently in my family’‘Showing contempt for another’s actions’USA (α=0.82–0.88)58
The Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions Scale59 (12 scenarios)Seven subscales: Distress Reactions; Punitive reactions; Minimisation; Emotion-focussed; Problem-focussed; Expressive encouragement. We created a new subscale called ‘Empathy’, assessing whether the parent acknowledges and validates the child’s emotion12 scenarios with seven response items rated on a 7-point scale from ‘very likely’ to ‘very unlikely’‘If my child becomes angry because he/she is sick or hurt and can't go to his/her friend’s birthday party… I would: Send my child to his/her room to cool off; Get angry at my child; Acknowledge it can be disappointing to miss out on something you want to do.’ (Empathy Scale)USA (α=0.69–0.85)59
The Coping with Toddler’s Negative Emotions Scale60 (12 scenarios)Eight subscales: Grant Wishing; Distress Reactions; Punitive reactions; Minimisation; Emotion-focussed; Problem-focussed; Expressive encouragement. New ‘Empathy’ subscale as per above12 scenarios with eight response items rated on a 7-point scale from ‘very likely’ to ‘very unlikely’‘If my child becomes angry because he wants to play outside and cannot do so because he is sick, I would: Feel upset myself; Let my child play outside; Acknowledge that they really want to play outside, and are feeling angry and frustrated.’ (Empathy Scale)USA (α=0.69–0.85)59
Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale—16-item version61 (19 items)Five subscales: Strategies; Non-acceptance; Impulse Control; Goals; Clarity. Three items from original Impulse Control subscale were addedFive-point scale from ‘almost never’ to ‘almost always’‘I have difficulty making sense out of my feelings’Sweden; USA (α=0.92–0.95)61
 Parenting, family and home environment
Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire62 (18 items)Three subscales: Pre-Mentalising Modes, Certainty about the Mental States of the Infant, Interest and Curiosity in the Mental States of the InfantSeven-point scale from ‘strongly disagree’ to ‘strongly agree’‘The only time I’m certain my child loves me is when he or she is smiling at me.’Belgium (α=0.70–0.82)62
Parenting warmth63 (six items)N/ASix-point scale from ‘never’ to ‘almost always’‘Thinking about the study child over the last 6 months, how often did you hug or hold this child for no particular reason.’Australia (coefficient H=0.92–0.96)63
Parenting irritability63 (five items)N/A10-point scale from ‘not at all’ to ‘all the time’‘In the past 6 months, how often would you say… I have raised my voice with or shouted at this child.’Australia (coefficient H=0.85–0.92)63
Shared book reading64 (one item)N/AFour-point scale from ‘not at all’ to ‘everyday’‘In a typical week, how often do you read books to your child?’Australia (α=0.68–0.76)65
Books in the home64 (one item)N/A‘Less than 10’; ‘10–30’; ‘30+books’‘Approximately how many books does your child own?’USA (α=0.74)66
Kessler-667(six items)N/AFive-point scale from ‘none of the time’ to ‘all of the time’‘Thinking about yourself in the past 4 weeks, about how often did you feel nervous?’USA (α=0.89)67
Depression and Anxiety Scale (DASS) 21-item version68 (7 items)Stress subscaleFour-point scale from ‘did not apply to me at all’ to ‘applied to me very much, or most of the time’‘I found it hard to wind down.’Australia (α=0.89)68
Positive and Negative Affect Schedule—Short Form69 (five items)Positive Affect subscaleFive-point scale from ‘very slightly or not at all’ to ‘extremely’‘Thinking about yourself in the past 4 weeks, about how often did you feel… alert?’Australia; Burma; Canada; China; Hong Kong; Hungary; India; Indonesia; Japan; Malaysia; Mexico; Mongolia; the Philippines; Singapore; Taiwan; Thailand; Tonga; UK; USA; Vietnam (α=0.80)69
Stressful life events over the past 12 months70 (eight items)N/AItems rated yes/no‘In the last year, have any of the following happened to you (or your partner)? You became pregnant or had a baby; You moved house.’UK
(κ=0.78–1.0)70
Social support (one item)N/AFour-point scale from ‘I get enough help’ to ‘I don’t get any help at all’; and ‘I don’t need any help’‘Overall how do you feel about the amount of support or help you get from family or friends living elsewhere?’ 
Argumentative Relationship Scale, Adaptation of the Co-parental Communication Scale71 (five items)N/AFive-point scale from ‘never’ to ‘always’‘How often do you and your partner disagree about basic child rearing issues?’Australia (α=0.81–0.96)39
Neighbourhood disadvantage—postcodes used to derive deprivation indicesCountry-specific deprivation indices derived for Australia; New Zealand; England; Wales; Northern Ireland; Scotland; and the USA   
Family demographic and socioeconomic questionsParent and child age/gender; country of birth; language spoken at home; education setting; relationship status; parent/partner qualifications and employment; household income ‘Are you currently in paid employment?’