Children and COVID-19 Research Library

The purpose of the present study is to review and update methodologies, tools, and instruments for measuring physical and psychological well-being among students in Bogotá, as part of the aim to strengthen comprehensive education in the city, especially in the post-pandemic period

An active participation in physical activity is associated with several elements of successful aging, including psychosocial health and well-being. Not getting enough physical activity and increased psychosocial health problems are observed worldwide especially during the first year of Covid-19 pandemic and for that reason, the present study was aimed at analyzing and comparing physical activity of Slovak adolescents during the second wave of Covid-19 pandemic. Standardized measure to estimate the habitual practice of physical activity (IPAQ-SF) was carried out through intentional sampling of 2375 Slovak adolescents (54.56 % of them adolescent girls), aged 17-19 years (mean 18.10 ± 0.60 years), attending the last year of grammar and vocational secondary schools of Slovakia. Basic descriptive statistics, chi-square test (χ2) and Two -Sample T-Test were used to analyze and compare the data.

Digital (video) calls have become a significant tool during the challenging times marked by the COVID-19 pandemic. The article focuses on the perceived functionality of video calls for maintaining social contacts and overcoming loneliness in celebrating family festivities limited by physical distance policies. The qualitative study conducted at the end of 2021 in Latvia and Spain examines families’ cultural socialisation via digital tools and, based on data obtained from semi-structured in-depth interviews, assesses the users’ digital experiences in celebrating Christmas and the New Year from retrospective and prospective standpoints.

Understanding the negative impact of the pandemic on children and adolescents is essential in order to provide proper support and intervention. Nonetheless, surmounting adversity, such as COVID-19, may also provide positive lessons for youth to overcome the negative consequences of the pandemic and prepare society for future crises. The objective of the current qualitative study was to document the perceived positive aspects identified by children and adolescents during COVID-19 and how they made sense of their experience. Participants (N = 67, 5–14 years old) were recruited in May and June 2020. Semi-structured interviews were conducted via a videoconferencing platform. Based on the transcribed and coded interviews, a thematic qualitative analysis was derived utilizing NVivo. Participants' answers were grouped into four main themes and sub-themes: (1) school changes, (2) bonding time, (3) free time, and (4) technology usage. Analysing youth perspectives on their experience of the COVID-19 pandemic provides insight into some of the positive changes and lessons that can be gained amidst the overwhelming negative consequences of the pandemic.

This paper aims to analyze the evolution of research on children and adolescents mental health issues during COVID-19 pandemic and discuss research hotspots and cutting-edge developments. The literature obtained from the web of science core collection as of June 28, 2022, was analyzed using Citespace, VOSviewer bibliometric visualization mapping software.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unprecedented disruptions in the daily lives and mental health of adolescents. Less attention has been given to the psychosocial resources that may mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on adolescent mental health, particularly among minoritized populations. In the present study, 259 youth (aged 11–18) were recruited from a community center for integrated prevention and intervention services in a predominantly Latinx and Hispanic community. Youth completed questionnaires about the impact COVID-19 has had on their lives, psychosocial resources (humor, optimism, emotion regulation, social support), and psychiatric symptoms (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, sleep disturbances, aggression). After accounting for age, sex, and exposure to early life adversity, higher reported COVID-19 impact was associated with more depressive symptoms, b = 6.37 (SE = 1.67), 95% CI [3.08, 9.66], p < 0.001, more anxiety symptoms, b = 9.97 (SE = 1.63), 95% CI [6.75, 13.18], p < 0.001, and more sleep disturbances, b = 1.24 (SE = 0.34), 95% CI [0.57, 1.91], p < 0.001.

Racial reckoning is defined as the subjugation of Black, Indigenous, and people of Color (BIPOC) to racial hierarchies and subordinate groups that influence multiple well-being outcomes throughout the developmental lifespan and across generations. With the two pandemics of racial reckoning and COVID-19 amidst a growing controversial political landscape, topics around civic engagement have been brought to the forefront of community conversation. Discussions surrounding civic engagement must go beyond addressing issues of public concern and examine the vehicle in which civic engagement may be delivered. This is becoming increasingly important as civic engagement is one of the main avenues of social change through individual and collective action, particularly regarding racial reckoning and healthcare disparities highlighted by COVID-19. The paper focuses on civic engagement among ethnic minority youth and young adults. An integrated model of civic engagement was created based off what was learned through this review. This proposed model of civic engagement is meant to be the first step to addressing the gap in civic engagement literature for ethnic minority youth. Weaknesses and future considerations regarding the model will also be discussed, as well as any implications for ethnic minority youth and young adults.

There is increasing evidence that the COVID-19 pandemic has had substantial mental health impacts for adolescents. Yet, few definitive studies have investigated which adolescents were at higher risk of poor mental health and well-being during the pandemic. Data were drawn from the Childhood to Adolescence Transition Study, a prospective cohort study of students in Australia (N = 1211). Prevalence of mental health outcomes (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, self-harm and good subjective well-being) was estimated in school Years 5–12, where Years 11 (2020) and 12 (2021) coincided with the pandemic. The age- and sex-adjusted relative risk of each mental health outcome for each priority group during the pandemic were estimated.

This article examines changes in family climate during the first Covid‐19‐related lockdown in Germany. It compares the perspectives of mothers and adolescents to explore whether the factors of perceived changes in family climate are systematically and significantly different between these groups. It measures family climate as positive emotional climate, a sub‐dimension of the family environment scale, to capture a feeling of cohesion and emotional openness within the family. Based on family system theory and the family stress model, it expects an overall deterioration in family climate due to increased environmental adaptation in the pandemic. Furthermore, it expects family climate to deteriorate less when families have economic and social resources available. On the other hand, it assumes that being employed and/or primarily responsible for family care relates to a stronger decline in the family climate. This study employs longitudinal survey data (AID:A) from around 300 German families with children aged nine to 17 and applys individual fixed effects models to investigate changes in family climate from 2019 to 2020.

The arrival of COVID-19 pandemic led to a much-publicized mental health crisis for American youth. A subgroup of those youth particularly affected were transgender and gender diverse (TGD) children and adolescents. Yet, a psychoanalytic eye cast on these youth revealed not a crisis, but a dialectic: from a relational and intrapsychic perspective, it was the best of times and the worst of times for TGD young people. This article applies Winnicott’s concepts of mirroring and the author’s constructs of the true gender self, false gender self, and gender creativity to information gleaned from survey studies and clinical observation. These data were then used to analyze why some TGD children and adolescents experienced the shutdown phase of the pandemic as an opportunity to consolidate their gender self, while others experienced the shutdown as a significant environmental impingement and threat to their gender self and overall well-being.

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.