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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

UNICEF Innocenti's curated library of COVID-19 + Children research

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Journal article

The perception of Italian pregnant women and new mothers about their psychological wellbeing, lifestyle, delivery, and neonatal management experience during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: a web-based survey

AUTHOR(S)
Viviana Stampini; Alice Monzani; Silvia Caristia (et al.)

Published: July 2021 Journal: BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, drastic measures for social distancing have been introduced also in Italy, likely with a substantial impact in delicate conditions like pregnancy and puerperium. The study aimed to investigate the changes in lifestyle, access to health services, and mental wellbeing during the first Italian lockdown in a sample of Italian pregnant women and new mothers.

Journal article

Smartphone use and addiction during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic: cohort study on 184 Italian children and adolescents

AUTHOR(S)
Gregorio Serra; Lucia Lo Scalzo; Mario Giuffrè (et al.)

Published: July 2021 Journal: Italian Journal of Pediatrics

The lives of many children and adolescents are today increasingly influenced by new technological devices, including smartphones. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic occurred in a time of outstanding scientific progress and global digitalization. Young people had relevant adverse psychological and behavioral effects due to the COVID-19 pandemic, mainly related to infection control measures, which led them to spend more time at home and with major use of technological tools. The goal this study proposes is to evaluate health and social outcomes of smartphone overuse among Italian children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, analyzing patterns and aims of utilization, as well as the eventual presence and degree of addiction.

Journal article

School openings and the COVID-19 outbreak in Italy: a provincial-level analysis using the synthetic control method

AUTHOR(S)
Vincenzo Alfano; Salvatore Ercolano; Lorenzo Cicatiello

Published: July 2021 Journal: Health Policy

Schools have been central in the debate about COVID-19. On the one hand, many have argued that they should be kept open, given their importance to youngsters and the future of the country, and the effort many countries have made in establishing protocols to keep them safe. On the other hand, it has been argued that open schools further the spread of the virus, given that these are places with large-scale interaction between teenagers and adults accompanying their children, as well as a major source of congestion on public transportation. This study aims to identify the effect of school openings on the spread of COVID-19 contagion. Italy offers an interesting quasi-experimental setting in this regard due to the scattered openings that schools have experienced. By means of a quantitative analysis, employing a synthetic control method approach, we find that Bolzano, the first province in Italy to open schools after the summer break, had far more cases than its synthetic counterfactual, built from a donor pool formed from the other Italian provinces. Results confirm the hypothesis that despite the precautions, opening schools causes an increase in the infection rate, and this must be taken into account by policymakers.

Journal article

Psychometric properties of the Italian version of the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale (PREPS) and its correlation with anxiety and depression

AUTHOR(S)
Chiara Penengo; Chiara Colli; Marco Garzitto (et al.)

Published: July 2021 Journal: Journal of Affective Disorders

In the beginning of 2020, Italy was the first European country to face the COVID-19 outbreak. Restrictions imposed during the pandemic, social isolation, and the cancellation of medical appointments likely resulted in stress that may have affected pregnant women adversely. This paper aims to determine the psychometric validity of the Italian version of the Pandemic-Related Pregnancy Stress Scale (PREPS) in assessing COVID-19-related stress in pregnant women and to examine correlations between PREPS scales and symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Journal article

The quality of mother-child feeding interactions during COVID-19 pandemic: an exploratory study on an Italian sample

AUTHOR(S)
Luca Cerniglia; Renata Tambelli; Elena Trombini (et al.)

Published: July 2021 Journal: European Journal of Developmental Psychology

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the life of individuals in several realms such as work, education, and interpersonal interactions. No research has so far investigated the possible influence of the emergency on the quality of mother-child exchanges during feeding. The mothers’ psychopathological risk, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsion scores and caregiving distress significantly increased. Children’s emotional/behavioral functioning worsened during the pandemic, with significantly higher Internalizing and externalizing scores. This is the first study to focus on the quality of mother-child feeding interactions during the pandemic. This exploratory study can expand the knowledge on the possible negative outcomes of COVID-19 on family life and caregiving.present study aimed to do so in a sample of mothers and children (N = 359) recruited in the general population.

Journal article

Family adjustment to COVID-19 lockdown in Italy: parental stress, coparenting, and child externalizing behavior

AUTHOR(S)
Michele Giannotti; Noemi Mazzoni; Arianna Bentenuto (et al.)

Published: July 2021 Journal: Family Process

Evidence of psychological distress in families during COVID-19 outbreak are arising. However, the perceived changes in psychological adjustment during home confinement with respect to the period before the pandemic have not been addressed yet. Moreover, little is known about the role of coparenting and specific COVID-19 contextual variables on parental stress and children's behavioral difficulties in the Italian context. Using a cross-sectional survey, this study collected data on 841 Italian parents of children aged 3–11 years with typical development during the home confinement (20th April–18th May). It analyzed levels of parental stress, coparenting, and child externalizing behaviors before and during the home confinement. Additionally, hierarchical regressions were performed to investigate predictors of parental stress and child externalizing behaviors during the lockdown.

Journal article

Governing education in times of crisis: State interventions and school accountabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Alison L. Milner; Paola Mattei; Christian Ydesen

Published: June 2021 Journal: European Educational Research Journal

Strategic government interventions in public education have shifted and blurred the boundaries between state, market and civil society modes of governance. Within this matrix of interdependent relations, schools operate under increasingly hybrid accountability arrangements in which public accountability can both complement and compete with market and social regimes and their associated institutional logics, goals, values and mechanisms. During the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, national governments implemented a wide range of emergency measures which had consequences for the mixes and layers of school accountabilities. This article examines the principal policy changes in Denmark, England and Italy. Drawing on state theories and the concept of ‘hybrid accountability’, semi-structured interviews with national and local policymakers and school practitioners were analysed thematically. While cultural nuances exist between the cases, our findings reveal that state interventions reinforce a public–professional accountability hybrid and hierarchies of control and command within and outside networks. Concomitantly, state non-interventions and the distinct underlying institutional logics associated with national large-scale assessments suggest policy inertia with implications for professional accountability and institutionalised change

Journal article

Self-efficacy, subjective well-being and positive coping in adolescents with regard to Covid-19 lockdown

AUTHOR(S)
Elena Cattelino; Silvia Testa; Emanuela Calandri (et al.)

Published: June 2021 Journal: Current Psychology

The study is aimed at examining the relationship between emotional and self-regulated learning self-efficacy, subjective well-being (SWB) and positive coping among adolescents and youths, during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown. 485 Italian students (74% girls; mean age 19.3) filled in an online questionnaire during the lockdown period. The hypothesized model in which both the forms of self-efficacy were predictors of SWB and positive coping, and SWB partially mediated the relation between self-efficacy measures and positive coping was tested by means of Structural equation modeling. Results largely supported the hypothesized relationships and suggested paying special attention to adolescents’ self-efficacy in regulating basic negative emotions, in order to promote positive coping strategies to face challenges coming from everyday life and from non-normative events.

Journal article

Psychological symptoms in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese youth during the COVID-19 health crisis: a longitudinal study

AUTHOR(S)
Mireia Orgilés; Rita Francisco; Elisa Delvecchio (et al.)

Published: June 2021 Journal: Child Psychiatry & Human Development

Aiming to slow down the spread of the COVID-19, a lockdown was declared in the first term of 2020 in many European countries, applying different restrictions measures. Although the psychological effects of home confinement in children have been described, there is a lack of longitudinal research examining the impact of the confinement over time. The present study analyzes the evolution of the psychological wellbeing of children and adolescents from three European countries with different restrictions. Parents of 624 Italian, Spanish, and Portuguese children and adolescents aged 3 to 18 years old completed the “Impact Scale of COVID-19 and Home Confinement on Children and Adolescents” two, five, and eight weeks after the lockdown.

Cite this research | Open access | No. of pages: 10 | Language: English | Topics: Mental Health | Tags: adolescent health, adolescent psychology, adolescent well-being, child health, child well-being, COVID-19 response, lockdown, mental health services, mental stress, psychological distress, social distance | Countries: Italy, Portugal, Spain

Journal article

Sleep disorders reveal distress among children and adolescents during the Covid-19 first wave: results of a large web-based Italian survey

AUTHOR(S)
Arianna Dondi; Anna Fetta; Jacopo Lenzi (et al.)

Published: June 2021 Journal: Italian Journal of Pediatrics

Measures to contain the Covid-19 pandemic led to significant lifestyle changes for children and adolescents mainly related to the closure of schools and recreational activities, reduced social interaction, and increased family concerns. A cross-sectional online survey of 78 questions investigating social determinants of health, mood changes, symptoms of anxiety, increase in sleep disorders and unusual repetitive movements was offered to parents living in Italy with children ≤18 years; including families of children with disabilities, autism spectrum disorders, chronic diseases, and specific learning disabilities. The survey was conducted on the Qualtrics platform 6 months after the beginning of the pandemic and distributed in hospitals and paediatricians’ waiting rooms as well as through social networks.

Journal article

Gay fathers through cross-border surrogacy during the COVID-19 pandemic: implications for mental health and father–child bonding

AUTHOR(S)
Nicola Carone; Demetria Manzi; Lavinia Barone (et al.)

Published: June 2021

Between 20 March–29 July 2020, this cross-sectional case-control study collected data on father–child bonding quality, depression, anxiety, and somatization in 30 Italian gay fathers (n = 15 families) who were having or successfully had a child through cross-border surrogacy during the COVID-19 pandemic. These fathers were compared to a sociodemographically similar group of 50 Italian gay fathers (n = 25 families) who had children through cross-border surrogacy prior to the pandemic.

Journal article

Distance learning in Italian primary and middle school children during the COVID-19 pandemic: a national survey

AUTHOR(S)
Francesca Scarpellini; Giulia Segre; Massimo Cartabia

Published: June 2021 Journal: BMC Public Health volume

School closure created difficulties for parents, who were asked to care for their children and help them with schooling, while working at home. This study aimed to explore the experiences in organising school for children at home and its implications on children’s psychological well-being and educational progress during the quarantine for the COVID-19 pandemic. A nationwide online survey of mothers of primary and middle school students was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. Demographic data and information on distance learning organisation and children’s attitudes and behavioural changes were collected.

Journal article

Childbirth experience and practice changing during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study

AUTHOR(S)
Annalisa Inversetti; Simona Fumagalli; Antonella Nespoli (et al.)

Published: May 2021

This study aims to evaluate mothers’ satisfaction with childbirth experience in a cohort of women who delivered during COVID pandemia and to compare them to a pre-COVID cohort. A cross-sectional study in a low-risk maternity unit was performed.

Journal article

Eating behaviour, physical activity and lifestyle of Italian children during lockdown for COVID-19

AUTHOR(S)
Laura Censi; Stefania Ruggeri; Myriam Galfo (et al.)

Published: May 2021 Journal: International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition

In March 2020 Italy went into lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic and children changed rapidly their lifestyles with possible negative effects on their health status. An online survey collected data on eating habits, physical activity, perception/behaviour of 1027 Italian 2–11 years children during lockdown. The chi-square test was applied to test differences in proportions. Results showed a tendency of eating behaviour to worsen as children age and by areas. Only 32.3% of the children had high adherence to Mediterranean Diet, with better scores in 2–5 years children. 78.1% of the children stopped their habitual physical activity, with higher percentage among 6–11 and in Northern children; only 51.8% maintained some activities at home, playing mainly movement games/sports. Children spent more time on devices, missed school and friends, being more bored and less creative. This framework highlights the growing need for strategies to preserve children’s health in this and future pandemics.

Journal article

Interviewing children: the impact of the COVID-19 quarantine on children's perceived psychological distress and changes in routine

AUTHOR(S)
G. Segre; R. Campi; F. Scarpellini (et al.)

Published: May 2021 Journal: BMC Pediatrics

The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in governments implementing disease containment measures such as school closures, social distancing, and home quarantine. To date, only a few studies have drawn attention to the psychological impact of lockdown on Italian children’s mental health. The present study aimed to investigate the psychological distress (anxiety and mood symptoms) and perceived changes in routine among Italian primary and middle school students during the COVID-19 quarantine.

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