An Analysis of Parents' Experiences of Child Misbehaviour and Control During Ghana's COVID‐19 Lockdown

ABSTRACT The COVID‐19 lockdown, implemented globally by April 2020, disrupted daily life for approximately 3 billion people, including in Ghana, where school closures and economic strain heightened family tensions and child misbehaviour. Limited research exists on Ghanaian parents' experiences managing child misbehaviour during this period. This study, grounded in Baumrind's Parenting Styles Theory, explores the types of child misbehaviour and parental disciplinary responses in urban Ghanaian households during the lockdown. A qualitative descriptive design was employed, involving in‐depth telephone interviews with 59 parents from Accra and Tema, Ghana, conducted between June and November 2020. Participants, parents of children aged 10–17, were purposively sampled. Thematic analysis, guided by Braun and Clarke's Reflexive Thematic Analysis framework, was used to analyse narratives, with data saturation achieved. Eighty‐five percent of parents reported child misbehaviour, including excessive eating (69%), leisure activities (59%), neglecting chores (51%) and academic disengagement (47%). Parents employed authoritarian (e.g., punishment, 31%), permissive (e.g., advising, 36%) and nonverbal strategies (e.g., ignoring, 41%) to manage behaviours. Lockdown stressors shifted parenting styles, highlighting the need for culturally relevant parenting support to promote authoritative practices in crisis contexts.