Bridget L. Callaghan

The current study investigated the impacts of parental behaviors (threat communication and comforting) on children's COVID‐19 fears and whether effects differed by age. Caregivers of 283 children (5.5–17 years, M = 10.17, SD = 3.25) from 186 families completed online measures assessing children's and parents’ COVID‐19‐related fears, children's sources of COVID‐19 threat information, and parents’ engagement in behaviors to reduce child distress (i.e., comfort behaviors). Higher COVID‐19 fear in parents was associated with greater communication of COVID‐19 threat information, which was associated with higher COVID‐19 fear in younger, but not older, children. Over and above parental fear and threat communication, greater exposure to COVID‐19 threat information from community sources (e.g., media, school, friends) was associated with greater COVID‐19 fear in children, regardless of age. Greater engagement of parental comfort behaviors buffered the association between community sources of COVID‐19 threat information and COVID‐19 fears in older, but not younger, children. These findings suggest that younger children might be more vulnerable to developing heightened COVID‐19 fears as a result of increasing sources of COVID‐19 threat information in their lives. This study highlights the importance of supporting the socioemotional well‐being of children and families through the COVID‐19 pandemic and beyond.