Children and COVID-19 Research Library

The crisis affecting the Lake Chad Basin is one of the most severe humanitarian emergencies in the world, having displaced more than 2.4 million people, half of whom are children. Most are internally-displaced but this number also includes refugees and returnees. With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, people living in humanitarian contexts are particularly vulnerable to the pandemic and will continue to feel the post-pandemic impacts. For people living in areas with weak health systems, disrupted social support networks, and ongoing conflict and instability, the coronavirus is an additional crisis that they have to face and adapt to. Within this population, youth face increased vulnerability. Youth groups however, provide a critical voice for accountability at the community, state/district and national level. In addition, most youth groups tend to be self-led, volunteer-based, internally-funded and informal with little to no structure. As the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on nations’ economies, the pressure for economic survival is heightened for this group who already face bleak employment or income generation prospects. Beyond the impact on youth as individuals, there’s a threat to their ability to contribute to community building through youth groups, as their focus shifts to economic survival. This report seeks to highlight the effects of the pandemic on young people, and how they are facing their future.

From April 20–30, 2020, during a nationwide lockdown, the Population Council Bangladesh conducted the first round of a rapid phone-based survey on COVID-19 knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP). The survey randomly selected girls who had provided phone numbers during enrollment in a skills-building program that began before the pandemic. The survey’s objective was to assess the impact of COVID-19 on adolescent lives and to design programs that would contribute to protecting girls and meet social distancing guidelines imposed by the government. Phone interviews were conducted with 479 girls living in the districts of Chapainawabganj, Kushtia, and Sherpur who were participants in a program focused on reducing child marriage by increasing school attendance and grade progression among girls ages 12 to 15.1 A follow-up survey was conducted from June 12–22, 2020, prior to the introduction of virtual skills sessions as school closure and social distancing protocols were in effect. The nationwide lockdown had been withdrawn by that time. A third round of remote data collection took place from September 5–11, 2020. This brief presents the findings and comparisons from the three rounds of phone surveys.

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a pandemic, and Italy was among the nations most affected, with more than 29,000 victims. Measures to counter the progression of the epidemic have forced a review and reformulation of the day-to-day activities of the affected populations, necessitating restrictive measures such as social distancing and quarantine. Several studies have hypothesized that quarantine could have a negative psychological impact on the population. Studies have shown that quarantine leads to a decrease in positive emotions and an increase in negative emotions, such as anger and fear. The experience of quarantine tends to correlate with decreased psychological well-being and the onset of psychological symptoms and emotional disorders, such as depression, anxiety, insomnia, and post-traumatic symptoms. Factors such as the quarantine duration, the uncertainty of information, and the fear of being infected or of the infection of loved ones appear to be factors that increase distress. In addition, the loss of routine and confinement, which causes a drastic reduction in physical and social contact with others, can increase the sense of isolation and loneliness, resulting in psychological distress. The literature has focused mainly on the psychological well-being of adults and health professionals, and not on adolescent well-being, and, in particular, the risk of suicidal ideation. Suicide is estimated to be the world's second leading cause of death among adolescents, and suicidal ideation, which contributes to the risk of committing suicide, is at its peak in adolescence.

Despite a growing interest in the field, scarce narrative studies have delved into adolescents’ psychological experiences related to global emergencies caused by infective diseases. The present study aims to investigate adolescents’ narratives on positive and negative experiences related to COVID-19. Italian adolescents, 2,758 (females = 74.8%, mean age = 16.64, SD = 1.43), completed two narrative tasks on their most negative and positive experiences during the COVID-19 emergency. Data were analyzed by modeling an analysis of emergent themes.

Individualized funding schemes are designed to offer people with disability greater choice and control over the services they receive. This research reports on a survey of over 700 families to explore how Australia's National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) supported children and young people and their families to learn remotely during COVID‐19. NDIS funding to support education during the first COVID‐19 lockdown period forms an important case study of the flexibility of individualized funding schemes.

Newly released 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System data and the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC)’2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey Data Summary and Trends Report show that US adolescents continue to suffer from poor mental health and suicidality at alarming rates. These data alone would be cause for concern, but the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to further erode adolescent mental health, particularly for those whose mental health was poor prior to the pandemic. Given the status of adolescent mental health prior to COVID-19 and the impact of COVID-19, health professionals and schools must partner together now to mitigate potentially deleterious health, mental health and education impacts for children and adolescents.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is having a profound impact on the health and development of children worldwide. There is limited evidence on the impact of COVID-19 and its related school closures and disease-containment measures on the psychosocial wellbeing of children; little research has been done on the characteristics of vulnerable groups and factors that promote resilience. This research conducted a large-scale cross-sectional population study of Hong Kong families with children aged 2–12 years.

COVID-19 restrictions reduced adolescents’ opportunities for physical activity (PA). The purpose of this study was to examine how adolescent PA changed during school closures, to identify the key barriers and facilitators for these changes during lockdown and to use this information to understand how to manage future crises’ situations positively to prevent physical inactivity.

This note examines the effects of COVID-19 and subsequent economic and educational disruptions on adolescent well-being in Bangladesh. The analysis is based on data from 2,095 in-school adolescents aged 10–18 collected pre-COVID-19 (February–March 2020) through a field survey for an ongoing impact evaluation, and a follow-up virtual survey undertaken early in the pandemic (May-June 2020). Findings show large household-level economic impacts associated with increased food insecurity, anxiety, and mental health issues among adolescents. In addition, school closures have decreased adolescents’ access to learning, increased time spent on household chores, and affected future job aspirations. The impacts are particularly large for girls and for adolescents from more vulnerable households. Policy makers need to consider policies that facilitate school return, targeting girls and the most vulnerable. They also need creative school-based programming to address the likely long-run physical and mental health effects of COVID-19 on young people.

The world is facing an ongoing crisis with the COVID-19 pandemic. The first COVID-19 case in India was reported the 30th of January 2020, since then the numbers of cases has continued to rise. India has currently the second-highest number of confirmed cases in the world after the United States of America. Children are facing considerable challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such as the impact on their health and the health of their caregivers, as well as severe economic and social consequences. However, there’s a lack of data with focus on COVID-19 and its effects on children. This study focuses on how the COVID-19 pandemic affects children aged 11-17 in India.

Across diverse contexts, emerging evidence suggests that the COVID-19 pandemic is increasing levels of anxiety and stress. In calling for greater attention to people’s psychosocial and emotional well-being, global actors have paid insufcient attention to the realities of the pandemic in low- and middle-income countries, where millions of people are already exposed to intersecting vulnerabilities. Chronic poverty, protracted violence, confict and displacement, coupled with weak health, education and protection systems, provide the backdrop of many adolescents’ lives. Drawing on qualitative in-country telephone interviews with over 500 adolescents in Ethiopia, Côte d’Ivoire and Lebanon, this article unpacks the age and gendered dimensions of COVID-19 and its response.

Due to the COVID- 19 outbreak in the Netherlands (March 2020) and the associated social distancing measures, families were enforced to stay at home as much as possible. Adolescents and their families may be particularly affected by this enforced proximity, as adolescents strive to become more independent. Yet, whether these measures impact emotional well-being in families with adolescents has not been examined. The COVID-19 pandemic affected positive and negative affect of parents and adolescents and parenting behaviors (warmth and criticism) are investigated in this ecological momentary assessment study.

Adolescence is a formative phase for social development. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated regulations have led to many changes in adolescents’ lives, including limited opportunities for social interactions. The current exploratory study investigated the effect of the first weeks of COVID-19 pandemic lockdown on Dutch adolescents’ mood, empathy, and prosocial behavior.

The 2019 COVID-19 pandemic poses a challenge to adolescent psychological health. The aim of this study was to survey junior high and high school students in China to better understand the psychological consequences, such as anxiety, depression, and stress, of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey using structural questionnaires was conducted from April 7, 2020, to April 24, 2020. Demographic information and general information related to the pandemic were collected. Psychological consequences were assessed by the Impact of Event Scale Revised and the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale. Influencing factors were assessed by the Brief Resilience Scale and Coping Style Questionnaire.

This paper aims to examine mental health in conjunction with physical health during the COVID‐19 pandemic among youth with physical health conditions compared to those without. A cross‐sectional survey of 622 youth aged 14 to 28 was conducted. Analyses were conducted to understand the changes in mental and physical health among youth in four groups: (a) participants with a friend or family member diagnosed with COVID‐19, (b) participants with symptoms associated with COVID‐19, (c) participants with atopic conditions (asthma and allergies), and (d) participants with other preexisting physical health conditions.