Children and COVID-19 Research Library

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, research institutions across the globe have modified their operations in ways that have limited or eliminated the amount of permissible in-person research interaction. In order to prevent the loss of important developmentally-timed data during the pandemic, researchers have quickly pivoted and developed innovative methods for remote assessment of research participants. This manuscript describes methods developed for remote assessment of a parent child cohort with a focus on examining the perinatal environment, behavioral and biological indicators of child neurobehavioral development, parent-child interaction, as well as parent and child mental and physical health.

Deficits in motor inhibitory control and working memory have been hypothesized to be both a cause and consequence of heavy alcohol use. Adolescence is a critical developmental stage for inhibitory control and working memory, and it is also a stage when individuals are most likely to initiate alcohol use. This study aimed to examine whether inhibitory control and working memory would predict alcohol use and involvement in a group of UK adolescents in the COVID era.

This study assesses the reliability and consistency of a questionnaire (MBQ) about physical activity and sedentary time in children aged 6 to 12 years old during COVID-19 social distance: to describe the physical activity and sedentary times according to ages, verifying if there are differences between genders. MBQ presented adequate consistency and reliability values. Furthermore, there are differences in the practice of LPA, MVPA, and sedentary time between ages and genders. It is an easy method to diagnose and estimate MVPA, LPA, and sedentary time in physical education in remote, non-presence or presence classes for parents and children.

This research focuses on risks and mitigation strategies for 3 at-risk subpopulations of children: (1) children with behavioral health needs, (2) children in foster care or at risk for maltreatment, and (3) children with medical complexity (CMC). Mitigation strategies delineated for these at-risk populations are also likely beneficial for any child and family. Importantly, children not already in these groups are at risk for facing new medical, behavioral, or social challenges that develop during the pandemic. In particular, children in households of low socioeconomic status are likely at the highest risk for new or worsening issues, underscoring the critical leadership role of Medicaid programs in these risk mitigation strategies.

Healthy childhood development is fostered through sufficient physical activity (PA; including time outdoors), limiting sedentary behaviours (SB), and adequate sleep; collectively known as movement behaviours. Though the COVID-19 virus outbreak has changed the daily lives of children and youth, it is unknown to what extent related restrictions may compromise the ability to play and meet movement behaviour recommendations. This secondary data analysis examined the immediate impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on movement and play behaviours in children and youth.

Since December 2019, health systems around the globe have struggled with an increasing number of cases of a viral respiratory syndrome that emerged in China. The cause is a new strain in the coronavirus family, provisionally named 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)1, SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19. The European Paediatric Association–Union of National European Paediatric Societies and Associations (EPA-UNEPSA) has established a collaborative working group with key Chinese academic institutions and medical centers with the purpose of facilitating the reciprocal exchange of information and sharing scientific knowledge. The aim of this commentary by the China-EPA-UNEPSA working group is to raise awareness regarding children's psychological needs during epidemics and report early data collected in the COVID-19–affected areas in China during the current outbreak, emphasizing the role of families and caregivers in the timely recognition and management of negative emotions.

 The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had far-reaching health, social, and economic implications. Among them is the abrupt cessation of school programs for children and adolescents in Italy who by mandate had to remain in their homes during the “lockdown” aimed at containing and mitigating spread of COVID19. There are reasons to be concerned about housebound children and adolescents who have overweight and obesity; previous studies have supported the hypothesis that these youths will fare worse on weight-control lifestyle programs while at home compared with when they are engaged in their usual school curriculum.