The occurrence of the COVID-19 pandemic has been coupled with several detrimental health and economic effects. However, majority of earlier studies which examined the socio-economic effects of COVID-19 focused on psychological effects on the general population and most especially children, leaving the study of impacts on economically vulnerable parents with school-age children unexplored. Therefore this study investigated the effects of job and income loss, parental stress and fear of COVID-19 on parents’ psychological well-Being in selected economically vulnerable household in Bibiani-Anhwiaso-Bekweai Municipality. Multiple regression analysis was used as a statistical tool to estimate the links between dependent and explanatory variables. The empirical estimation was based on OLS method. This research employs the cross-sectional research design with primary data and uses structured questionnaire to obtain accurate information from parents. The investigator utilized purposive sampling technique to select a sample size of 214 parents or caregivers who were economically weak and have reached the minimum age of 18 and of at least one child, aged 3 to 16 from the target population. The findings of this research disclosed that job loss has insignificant negative effect on parents’ psychological well-being but it has statistically significant negative effect on parental stress level. Income loss on the other hand, exhibited positive and significant effect on parents’ psychological well-being although it was found to be insignificant in predicting parents’ stress level. The survey results revealed that 76% of respondents agreed that their stress level increased due to childcare burden. The regression output also showed that there is a significant negative relationship between parental stress and parents' psychological well-being. According to regression results, fear of COVID-19 has varied effects on stress and well-being; a rise in fear of COVID-19 will increase the parental stress and deteriorate the state of psychological well-being amongst parents. These findings suggest that parents' psychological well-being is negatively impacted by the fear of COVID-19. The current study also shows that parental stress mediates the impact of fear of COVID-19 on psychological well-being. The study recommended that mental health professionals and social workers should create awareness about high level of psychological stress and anxieties among parents with school-age children during and after the epidemic. It is also recommended that, support specifically targeting the reduction of parenting stress and demands regarding support of their children’s schooling at home should be provided by government in case of any future crisis.

Keywords: fear of COVID-19, job and income loss, multiple regression, parental stress, psychological well-being, school-age children