Children and COVID-19 Research Library

The studies on the association between sleep duration and myopia are limited, and the evidence is inconsistent. This study aimed to evaluate the association between sleep duration and myopia, cycloplegic spherical equivalent (SE) and axial length (AL) among Chinese children during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The study was a cross-sectional study on Chinese children aged 6–18 years. The comprehensive ophthalmic examinations for children included cycloplegic SE, AL, and standardized questionnaires. The questionnaire included sleep duration, parental myopia, outdoor time, and continuous near work duration without breaks. Myopia was defined as SE ≤-0.50 diopters (D).

Recent studies have shown that the qualities of children and adolescents’ positive youth development (PYD) enable them to cope with developmental challenges in an adaptive manner and maintain healthy functioning. During the COVID-19 pandemic, there is still a lack of reporting on changes in children and adolescents’ PYD qualities and Internet addiction and their relationship. This study investigated the association between PYD qualities and Internet addiction among the children and adolescents who have experienced the COVID-19 lockdown. A school-based cohort survey was launched in December 2019 (Wave 1, before COVID-19 lockdown) and followed up in June 2020 (Wave 2, after COVID-19 lockdown). The Chinese PYD scale (80 items, scoring 80–480) and Young’s Internet addiction test (20 items, scoring 20–100) were used to evaluate the children and adolescents’ PYD qualities and the degree of their Internet addiction, respectively. Cross-sectional regressions, longitudinal regressions, and cross-lagged panel model were used to examine the association between PYD qualities and Internet addiction.

China is considering to offer COVID-19 vaccination for children aged 6–35 months. This study investigated the changes in COVID-19 vaccine acceptability and associated factors among parents with children aged 6–35 months in 2020 and 2021. Two rounds of cross-sectional online surveys were conducted among adult factory workers in Shenzhen, China. A subset of 208 (first round) and 229 (second round) parents with at least one child aged 6–35 months was included in the study.

The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 and consequent quarantine policies have substantially altered family lives worldwide. Potential associations between parental negative emotional expressions towards the pandemic, family factors, and child psychological adjustment remain under-explored. Accordingly, the goal of the present study was to examine the relation between maternal panic over COVID-19 and children’s depressive symptoms, with a focus on the potential moderating role of children’s daily routines during a period of strict quarantine. Participants were N = 1,589 children (Mage = 13.13 years, SD = 1.54; 50.7% girls) and their mothers, from Zhengzhou, Henan Province, in Mainland China. Data were collected in April of 2020, when school closure policies were in effect. Mothers reported their panic over COVID-19 and children reported their depressive symptoms and daily routines during the quarantine period.

The COVID-19 pandemic and related prevention policies, such as home quarantine or online courses, could increase the risks of experiencing internet addiction and mental health problems among Chinese adolescents. There is a lack of longitudinal evidence to show the association between internet addiction symptoms and psychological consequences (e.g., depressive and anxiety symptoms). This study aimed to explore the association between internet addiction and depressive and anxiety symptoms before and during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. An effective sample of 7,958 Chinese adolescents was recruited for this two-wave longitudinal survey conducted over a six-month interval. All participants completed two-wave surveys before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. A longitudinal cross-lagged path model was used to analyze the associations between internet addiction and depressive and anxiety symptoms after controlling for four covariates (i.e., age, sex, minority, and COVID-19 influence).

Seasonal influenza may overlap with the COVID-19 pandemic, and children are one of the priority populations for influenza vaccination in China, yet vaccine coverage has been low. This study aimed to investigate the extent of parental influenza vaccine hesitancy (IVH) and to explore the associated factors. The study was conducted in Shanghai, China, from 1 June 2022 to 31 July 2022, using an anonymous questionnaire to survey a random sample of parents of children aged six months to 14 years. Binary logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with IVH.

In the process of large-scale online education during the COVID-19 pandemic, students’ online learning has caused widespread public concerns. This study investigated the relationships between Chinese rural and urban primary school students’ information communications technology (ICT) literacy, student resilience, and online learning self-efficacy in a large-scale online education environment during the pandemic in China. We compared 5,037 primary school students in rural areas to 5,045 primary school students in urban areas with matching gender and grade in nine regions in China’s Guangdong province, using a survey comprising an ICT literacy scale, a student resilience scale, an online learning self-efficacy scale, and an ICT devices scale. The ICT literacy, resilience and online learning self-efficacy of primary school students in rural areas were significantly lower than those in urban areas (p < 0.01).

Knowledge on the impact of the temporary kindergarten closure policy under COVID-19 in 2020 on childhood overweight and obesity is inadequate. We aimed to examine differences in rates of overweight and obesity from 2018 to 2021 among kindergarten children aged 3–7 years. Overweight was defined as body mass index (BMI) > 1 standard deviation (SD) for age and sex, and obesity was defined as BMI > 2 SD for age and sex. Generalized linear mixed modeling was used for analysis.

Returning to social life after the lifting of COVID-19 lockdown may increase risk of social anxiety, which is highly co-morbid with depression. However, few studies have reported the association between them. To explore the complex relationship between social anxiety and depression symptoms in left-behind children after the lifting of the COVID-19 lockdown. A cross-sectional survey was conducted 6 months after the lockdown removal. A total of 3,107 left-behind children completed the survey with a mean age of 13.33 and a response rate of 87.77%. Depression and social anxiety severity were assessed by the DSM-5 Patient Health Questionnaire for Adolescents and the DSM-5 Social Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire, respectively. The symptom-level association between the two disorders was examined using network analysis.

This paper aimed to estimate the effects of school closures and associated lifestyle changes on myopia in Chinese children and adolescents during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Two cross-sectional surveys recruited 14,296 Chinese students aged 7 to 18 years in November 2019 and June 2020 from which an open cohort study (nested queue design) was derived and used to assess myopia prevalence, incidence, and progression rates (defined as students with progression in myopia severity at the second survey wave among those with myopia at baseline). The severity of myopia was determined by measurements of visual acuity (<5.0) and noncycloplegic refraction (spherical equivalent <−0.50 diopters). Twenty-three myopia-influencing factors were divided into three categories: eye-use habits, lifestyle, and family and subjective factors. Responses to each of these 23 factors were labeled as either positive or negative options and then combined to generate a comprehensive score.

The COVID-19 pandemic combined with lockdown measures fundamentally changed urban family life worldwide. This article compares how different household types—singles, couples, nuclear families, and extended families—experienced the lockdown during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Beijing. It argues that not only the household responsibilities associated with household types at the household level, but also the family responsibilities on a larger geographical scale must be considered to understand the challenges faced by different households under the COVID-19 lockdown in urban China, where intergenerational supports such as family responsibilities to other generations living apart are prevalent during the pre-pandemic stage due to the collectivist culture. This article contributes the lens of household diversity and geographic distance to understanding everyday lives of families under lockdown and to reflect on family transformation in urban China over the past decades more broadly. Through the study of families, it also has implications for neighborhood planning and management aimed at mitigating a pandemic’s negative impacts.

It is yet to be clarified if and how parenting stress was linked to adolescent depressive symptoms during the pandemic. This study adopted an interdependent approach to examine the relationship between parenting stress and adolescent depressive symptoms in Chinese families. It then examined the mediating effects of overt and covert coparenting conflict behaviors. As a national survey, data were obtained from different regions in China. Fathers, mothers, and adolescents from 1031 families participated in this study. The fathers and mothers reported parenting stress; the adolescents rated their fathers and mothers’ overt and covert coparenting conflict behaviors and their own depressive symptoms.

Myopic shift had been observed during the COVID-19 lockdown in young school children. It remains unknown whether myopic shift is accompanied with increase in axial length. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on myopia and axial length of school children in China by comparing them before, during and after the lockdown. In this population-based cross-sectional study, school-based myopia screenings were conducted in the Fall of 2019, 2020, and 2021 (representing before, during and after COVID-19 lockdown respectively) in Chengdu, China. Myopia screenings were performed on 83,132 students aged 6 to 12 years. Non-cycloplegic refractive error was examined using NIDEK auto-refractor (ARK-510A; NIDEK Corp., Tokyo, Japan) and axial length was measured using AL-Scan (NIDEK Corp., Tokyo, Japan). Spherical equivalent (SER, calculated as sphere+ 0.5*cylinder), prevalence of myopia (SER ≤ -0.50 D), and axial length were compared across 3 years stratified by age.

To evaluate Chinese parents' willingness to vaccinate their children against COVID-19, identify its predictors, and provide a reference for raising the COVID-19 vaccination rate for children. PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, and the databases in Chinese, including CNKI, WanFang, VIP, CBM, were searched from December 2019 to June 2022, and citation tracking was used to identify relevant studies. To calculate the rate with 95% confidence intervals (CI), a random-effects model was used. To explore sources of heterogeneity, sensitivity analysis and subgroup analysis were conducted. This analysis was registered on PROSPERO (CRD42022346866) and reported in compliance with the PRISMA guidelines.