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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

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

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1 - 15 of 61
Screen media exposure and behavioral adjustment in early childhood during and after COVID-19 home lockdown periods

AUTHOR(S)
Noa Gueron-Sela; Ido Shaleva; Avigail Gordon-Hacker (et al.)

Published: January 2023   Journal: Computers in Human Behavior
There is ample evidence that young children's screen media use has sharply increased since the outbreak of the novel 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, the long-term impact of these changes on children's adjustment is currently unclear. The goals of the current study were to assess longitudinal trajectories of young children's screen media exposure through a series of national COVID-19 home lockdowns and to examine the predictive associations between different aspects of media exposure and post-lockdown behavioral adjustment. Data were collected at four timepoints during and after home lockdown periods in Israel. Longitudinal data measuring various aspects of media use, behavioral conduct and emotional problems were gathered from a sample of 313 Israeli children (54% females) between the ages two to five years (Mage at T1 = 3.6), by surveying their mothers at 5 points in time.
The Pandemial babies: effects of maternal stress on temperament of babies gestated and born during the pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Hernán López-Morales; Rosario Gelpi Trudo; Macarena Verónica del-Valle (et al.)

Published: November 2022   Journal: Current Psychology
The COVID-19 pandemic may configure an adverse prenatal context for early development. The aim of this study was to analyze the effects of pandemic-related negative experiences, prenatal anxiety and depression on the temperament of six-month-old babies. The sample consisted of 105 mother–child dyads. A longitudinal evaluation was carried out using pre- and postnatal online surveys. Mothers completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Beck Depression Inventory – II, the Pandemic Impact Questionnaire and the Infant Behavior Questionnaire Revised. Serial mediation models were tested, in which the pandemic-related negative experiences constituted the independent variable, the prenatal anxiety and depression were the mediators, and the children’s temperament dimensions were the dependent variables.
Association of excessive screen time in children with language delay during Covid-19 pandemic: a systematic review

AUTHOR(S)
Ulima Mazaya Ghaisani; Amalia Rasydini Salam

Published: November 2022   Journal: Jurnal Psikiatri Surabaya

COVID-19 pandemic and the associated lockdown have con-fined children to their homes and have resulted in an exponential increase in screen usage among children. This review aimed to scrutinize changes in screen time rate and duration in children and the correlation with increased risk  of  language  delay  in  children  under  two  years  old  with  any  screen time or screen time for more than 1 hour in children 2—5 years old during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: In this systematic review journal, we searched the database from PubMed and Google Scholar with the keywords of screen time OR computer OR television OR video game OR YouTube OR digital screen time AND COVID-19 OR SARS-Cov-19 AND preschool children OR birth to 5 years on January 13th, 2022.

Has the COVID-19 pandemic widened the urban-rural gap in early child development in China? Evidence from the rural side

AUTHOR(S)
Chuchu Zheng; Yongping Yu; Juncen Lu (et al.)

Published: November 2022   Journal: Early Education and Development
This national survey study aims to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on early development of rural preschoolers in China and compare the urban-rural gap. Participants were 11,282 rural preschool teachers recruited through the stratified random sampling method. They completed the survey online via wjx.com, the dominating online survey platform in China. The study compared the results with our previous research on 22,466 urban teachers and found: (1) most preschoolers in rural China had development improvement during the quarantine; (2) there were no significant urban-rural differences in early development; (3) three distinct profiles of rural preschoolers emerged: the low, medium, and high levels. Those 3–4 year-olds in public preschools in western China tended to have development loss or even development regression; and (4) increased parental involvement was found the significant predictor of rural preschoolers’ development improvement during the quarantine.
Latina mothers of young children with special needs: personal narratives capturing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Adriana Luna; Courtney A. Zulauf-McCurdy; Angel Fettig (et al.)

Published: October 2022   Journal: Topics in Early Childhood Special Education
The Latino community has been disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, resulting in unique challenges. This paper explores the lived experiences of five Spanish-speaking Latina mothers of young children receiving early childhood special education (ECSE) services during the pandemic. Through in-depth qualitative interviews, this paper focuses on the following research questions: (1) What barriers have Spanish-speaking Latino families encountered in ECSE service delivery during this pandemic? (2) How have families overcome those barriers? Latina mothers describe how despite encountering numerous barriers to ECSE service delivery during the pandemic, they also experienced key areas of support and strength.
Pedagogical practices in ECEC institutions and children's linguistic, motor, and socio-emotional needs during the COVID-19 pandemic: results from a longitudinal multi-perspective study in Germany

AUTHOR(S)
S. Diefenbacher; M. Grgic; F. Neuberger (et al.)

Published: September 2022   Journal: Early Child Development and Care
During the COVID-19 pandemic, German early childhood education and care (ECEC) institutions had to limit their provision of ECEC, implement protective measures, and handle new organizational tasks. Data from two longitudinal surveys (October 2020 to July 2021) among ECEC managers and pedagogical staff were analysed. Limited staff resources, limited access, and high pandemic-related challenges (i.e. difficulties and conflicts related to implementing protective measures), were negatively associated with the frequency of pedagogical practices (Models 1, 2). Manager ratings suggested increased developmental needs for children with low socio-economic status; also higher frequency of pedagogical practices at early stages of the pandemic (T1) was associated with lower increase of developmental needs at a later stage (T2, about 5 months later). In sum, this contribution provides evidence about how the COVID-19 pandemic might have affected quality in ECEC provision on both the structural and interaction level and how this, subsequently, impacted child outcomes.
The impact and lived experience of Covid-19 restrictions for vulnerable children and families in a low-income Irish community

AUTHOR(S)
Margaret Curtin; Maria O’Shea; Claire Hayes

Published: September 2022   Journal: Child Care in Practice
The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted on all aspects of life. The physical health burden predominately impacts adults. However, the psychological burden has impacted significantly on the development and wellbeing of babies and young children. The aim of this research was to explore the impact of Covid-19 restrictions on vulnerable children (aged 0–6) and their families who were registered with a prevention and early intervention programme in an area of socio-economic disadvantage in southern Ireland. A convenience sample of 15 mothers were contacted by the staff from the multidisciplinary Infant Mental Health home visiting team.
Exploring the role of COVID-19 pandemic-related changes in social interactions on preschoolers' emotion labeling

AUTHOR(S)
Stephanie Wermelinger; Lea Moersdorf; Simona Ammann (et al.)

Published: September 2022   Journal: Frontiers in Psychology
During the COVID-19 pandemic people were increasingly obliged to wear facial masks and to reduce the number of people they met in person. In this study, we asked how these changes in social interactions are associated with young children's emotional development, specifically their emotion recognition via the labeling of emotions. Preschoolers labeled emotional facial expressions of adults (Adult Faces Task) and children (Child Faces Task) in fully visible faces. In addition, we assessed children's COVID-19-related experiences (i.e., time spent with people wearing masks, number of contacts without masks) and recorded children's gaze behavior during emotion labeling. We compared different samples of preschoolers (4.00–5.75 years): The data for the no-COVID-19-experience sample were taken from studies conducted before the pandemic (Adult Faces Task: N = 40; Child Faces Task: N = 30). The data for the with-COVID-19-experience sample (N = 99) were collected during the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland between June and November 2021.
The content of breast milk and the challenges experienced by breastfeeding mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic: a systematic review

AUTHOR(S)
Eighty Mardiya Kurniawati; Nur Anisah Rahmawati; Innas Safira Putri (et al.)

Published: August 2022   Journal: The Open Public Health Journal

Every postpartum mother is recommended to breastfeed her baby because breast milk is the main need of newborns. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on life in various aspects, including on the breastfeeding mothers, especially if they suffer from COVID-19 infection. The study aims to provide comprehensive evidence regarding potential virus transmission and antibody transfer through breastmilk and the experiences of mothers related to breastfeeding during the COVID-19 pandemic. A systematic review was conducted following the PRISMA guidelines. The search strategy involved the use of keywords related to COVID-19 and breastfeeding in PubMed and Science Direct databases. Articles were selected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria.

Emotional and behavioral health among Portuguese toddlers during the COVID-19 crisis: the impact of social isolation and caregiving distress

AUTHOR(S)
Carolina Toscano; Patrícia Lopes; Cláudia Ramos (et al.)

Published: August 2022   Journal: Child Indicators Research
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant changes in the lives of families with young children. The present study aimed to explore whether child social isolation due to the COVID-19 crisis was associated with toddlers’ emotional and behavioral health (EBH) and whether this association was moderated by caregiving distress, during the second mandatory lockdown in Portugal. Participants included 315 toddlers and their primary caregivers. Caregivers were invited to complete a set of questionnaires in order to report about toddlers’ social isolation from other significant family members, other children, and activities outside the house, and to provide ratings of caregiving distress and toddlers’ EBH. Family socioeconomic factors, including stressors resulted from the pandemic, were also measured.
Pedagogical conditions for correcting children's feeling of helplessness during global pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Galina Vlasova; Anatoly Turchin; Vladimir Karapetyan

Published: August 2022   Journal: Scientific News
The article presents the content, forms and methods of professional development of teachers, psychologists and parents in the field of mental health of preschool children. It has been proven that more factors influence on children’s upbringing and development than congenital one. The study of the main determining role in the mental development of the child is presented in the form of objects and sign system. Harmonious development of children largely depends on their psychic health, so the issue of psychic health formation is still relevant.
Survey and 10-day diary data on infant nutrition, development, and home learning environment during the COVID-19 pandemic from the LEARN-COVID pilot study

AUTHOR(S)
Tilman Reinelt; Clarissa Frey; Rebecca Oertel (et al.)

Published: August 2022   Journal: Journal of Open Psychology Data
The LEARN-COVID pilot study collected data on infants and their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Assessments took place between April and July 2021. Parents (N = 357) from Switzerland (predominantly), Germany, and Austria answered a baseline questionnaire on their behaviour related to the pandemic, social support, infant nutrition, and infant regulation. Subsequently, parents (n = 222) answered a 10-day evening diary on infant nutrition, infant regulation, parental mood, and parental soothing behaviour. Data and documentation are stored on Zenodo, https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.6946048. These data may be valuable to researchers interested in infant development and parenting during the pandemic as well as to researchers interested in daily variability in infant behaviour, parenting, and nutrition.
Impact of learning from home: cognitive development of early childhood education student in pandemic Covid-19

AUTHOR(S)
Tria Wahyuningrum; Lida Khalimatus Sa’diya

Published: August 2022   Journal: Jurnal Obsesi
The purpose of this research was to determine how the covid-19 epidemic affected early childhood cognitive development. Principals, instructors, parents, and students served as informants in this study. The data collection techniques used in this study were inquiry in interview which were carried out to find out several things related to the impact of Covid-19 on students' cognitive development. The descriptive qualitative method was employed to analyze the data.
Stunting among kindergarten children in China in the context of COVID-19: a cross-sectional study

AUTHOR(S)
Xueyan Ma; Xiangzheng Yang; Hongzhi Yin (et al.)

Published: August 2022   Journal: Frontiers in Pediatrics

The impact of COVID-19 has most likely increased the prevalence of stunting. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of stunting among kindergarten children in the context of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Longgang District, Shenzhen, China, and its risk factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted to identify children from 11 sub districts of 481 kindergartens in the Longgang District of Shenzhen City from May to July 2021. In the context of COVID-19, an online survey was conducted to gather demographic information, height, birth information, and lifestyle. The prevalence of stunting was calculated, and the risk factors were analyzed using binary logistic regression with three stepwise models.

The associations among psychological distress, stressors of the COVID-19 pandemic, and disinhibited eating of parents of three- to five-year-old children

AUTHOR(S)
Noelle K. Herzog; Adelyn Sherrard; Tyler C. Kemmerley (et al.)

Published: August 2022   Journal: Eating Behaviors

Individuals' psychological distress is associated with disinhibited eating (external and emotional eating). The aim of the current study was to examine the moderating associations of COVID-19-related stress on parents' psychological distress (anxiety, hostility, depression) and external and emotional eating. One hundred and sixty U.S. parents of three- to five-year-old children (Mage = 34.08, SD = 6.76; 89 females) completed an online survey.

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UNICEF Innocenti's Children and COVID-19 Library is a database collecting research from around the world on COVID-19 and its impacts on children and adolescents.

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COVID-19 & Children: Rapid Research Response

UNICEF Innocenti is mobilizing a rapid research response in line with UNICEF’s global response to the COVID-19 crisis. The initiatives we’ve begun will provide the broad range of evidence needed to inform our work to scale up rapid assessment, develop urgent mitigating strategies in programming and advocacy, and preparation of interventions to respond to the medium and longer-term consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. The research projects cover a rapid review of evidence, education analysis, and social and economic policies.