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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

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

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31 - 45 of 69
Relationship between screen time among children and lower economic status during elementary school closures due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Sangha Lee; Sungju Kim; Sooyeon Suh (et al.)

Published: January 2022   Journal: BMC Public Health volume

This study aimed to examine whether the extended use of a variety of digital screen devices was associated with lower economic status and other environmental factors among Korean elementary school children and their caregivers during school closures precipitated by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. A total of 217 caregivers of children 7–12 years of age from Suwon, Korea, were recruited and asked to respond to a self-administered questionnaire in June 2020. The questionnaire addressed demographic information and children’s use of digital media, in addition to their caregivers. The t-test was used for continuous variables, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was used for variables measured on an interval scale. A multiple regression analyses were performed to examine the effects of significant correlative factors on screen time in children as predictors.

Child care and participation in the Global South: an anthropological study from squatter houses in Buenos Aires

AUTHOR(S)
Pía Leavy; Paula Nurit Shabel

Published: January 2022   Journal: Third World Thematics: A TWQ Journal
Children and teenagers are often considered as objects of care or as subjects who have the right to be cared for. However, in squatter houses in Buenos Aires, they often take on responsibilities that challenge the ways we understand childcare and participation. This article sets out to analyse the experiences of girls and young women. To do so, it carried out ethnographic work with girls aged 8–19 years within two occupied buildings in a Buenos Aires neighbourhood before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, studying its consequent measures of isolation and social distancing. Firstly, it describes how health measures applied to contain the pandemic reinforced certain stereotypes about children and their care. Secondly, it analyzes the participation of these children in production and reproduction activities inside and outside their homes. This analysis includes the ways in which they deployed strategies for their own care, based on their activism in a political organisation. The analysed material shows tensions between care and participation that occur in the daily practices of young women who inhabit these spaces, which are crossed by moral and legal duties as well as by material needs and violence.
When the great equalizer shuts down: schools, peers, and parents in pandemic times

AUTHOR(S)
Francesco Agostinelli; Matthias Doepke; Giuseppe Sorrenti (et al.)

Published: January 2022   Journal: Journal of Public Economics
What are the effects of school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic on children’s education? Online education is an imperfect substitute for in-person learning, particularly for children from low-income families. Peer effects also change: schools allow children from different socio-economic backgrounds to mix together, and this effect is lost when schools are closed. Another factor is the response of parents, some of whom compensate for the changed environment through their own efforts, while others are unable to do so. This study examines the interaction of these factors with the aid of a structural model of skill formation.
Family functioning and mental wellbeing impairment during initial quarantining for the COVID-19 pandemic: a study of Canadian families

AUTHOR(S)
Philippe Hwang; Lara Ipekian; Nikhil Jaiswal (et al.)

Published: January 2022   Journal: Current Psychology
Quarantine measures imposed due to COVID-19 have negatively impacted individual wellbeing. However, the research on the factors impacting mental health and functioning of families is limited. The current study explores socio-economic and demographic factors that mediate poor family functioning, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in response to quarantine measures in Canadian parents and children. 254 Canadian families completed an online questionnaire capturing demographic information and mental wellbeing of individuals and of the whole family. Family functioning was assessed using the Family Assessment Device General Functioning subscale (FAD-GF), and individual mental wellbeing was measured with the Generalized Anxiety Disorder screener (GAD-7) and Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Generalized linear models and logistic regression were used to model socio-demographic impacts on outcome variables.
Concerns about the COVID-19 pandemic among justice-involved and low-income youth

AUTHOR(S)
Caitlin Cavanagh; Isabelle Clough; April Gile Thomas

Published: December 2021   Journal: Juvenile and Family Court Journal
The COVID-19 pandemic has caused immense change and stress among adolescents. Yet, little is known about youths’ concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is particularly true among youth who have been highly impacted by the pandemic—namely, justice system-involved youth, low-income youth, and youth who consider themselves to be low status. Youth from the community, youth on probation, and incarcerated youth completed a survey describing their concerns related to COVID-19 across three concern domains: economic, social concerns, and COVID-19 itself.
COVID-19 and the social determinants of health and health equity: evidence brief
Institution: World Health Organization
Published: December 2021
The social determinants of health are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age and people’s access to power, money and resources. The social determinants are the major drivers of health inequities – unfair, avoidable and remediable differences in health between social groups. This evidence brief examines the influence of the social determinants of health on the current COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on the inequities of impact. The findings are drawn from a rapid systematic review of global evidence.
The impact of COVID-19 on the dietary diversity of children and adolescents: evidence from a rural/urban panel study

AUTHOR(S)
Yi Cui; Wei Si; Qiran Zhao (et al.)

Published: November 2021   Journal: China & World Economy
This paper offers the first empirical evidence of the impact of COVID-19 on dietary diversity among children and adolescents in urban and rural families by using panel data collected in 2019 (before COVID-19) and 2020 (during COVID-19) in northern China. This study uses panel data from 2,201 primary school students and 1,341 junior high-school students to apply the difference in differences (DID) method to estimate the impact of COVID-19 on dietary diversity among students in urban and rural families.
The perceptions of female breadwinner parents regarding their children’s distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Hibah Khalid Aladsani

Published: November 2021   Journal: Education and Information Technologies
Covid-19 has affected the everyday educational lives of students, teachers, administrators, and parents. Parents who are living in low-income and disadvantaged communities are probably more likely than others to have been affected by the pandemic in relation to their children’s distance learning. This study focused on the perceptions, predictions, and suggestions of female breadwinner parents from low-income families regarding their children’s distance learning. Data were collected from 12 mothers who participated in a three-stage focus group study. The data from the focus group discussions were thematically analyzed into three categories: (1) financial issues, (2) social and cultural issues, and (3) educational issues. Additionally, the findings presented the breadwinners’ general and technological reasons for their predictions for enhancing education in the future if schools return to face-to-face learning or pursue a blended learning approach. The breadwinners suggested three approaches to teaching and learning for the following academic year. The findings of this study may be useful in the development of educational policies and training programs to provide essential social and technological support to low-income families to address their needs in the online learning environment and to improve digital equity for low-income families who are likely to be educationally disadvantaged.
Growing up in the Covid-19 pandemic: An evidence review of the impact of pandemic life on physical development in the early years

AUTHOR(S)
Max Stanford; Pippa Davie; James Mulcahy

Institution: Early Intervention Foundation
Published: November 2021
This report is a brief review of emerging international and UK evidence on seven key factors associated with children’s early physical health and development, and the extent to which the consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic (such as lockdowns and social distancing) have impacted on these factors and affected children’s early physical development, including children from low-income and UK ethnic minority families.
States of emergency: education in the time of COVID-19

AUTHOR(S)
Anouk Pasquier Di Dio; Will Brehm; Elaine Unterhalter

Published: October 2021   Journal: NORRAG Special Issue

COVID-19 has shaken up – and continues to shake up – education systems all over the world in ways that we have yet to fully appreciate, much less address. The global COVID-19 pandemic has left few, if any, people, institutions and systems unaffected. Suddenly in 2020, issues that had previously been dismissed as “Third World Problems” became lived experience for many who had previously been able to ignore them if they chose to. Those who were already marginalised experienced the worst suffering. The ongoing pandemic is marked by continuities of the inequalities present before: both between North and South, as well as between “economic Souths in the geographic North and Norths in the geographic South.” (Mahler, 2017, p. 1). Enduring, complex and complexly interconnected inequalities (and insufficient responses to them) have been exacerbated by this additional systemic shock. Inadequate action to address these issues before this pandemic means that vulnerabilities during it are further aggravated. Moreover, where sudden disasters shock a system, less attention and funding is given to existing long-term, slow burn stressors. Shocks related to COVID-19 continue to have devastating effects on pupils, teachers and parents, and also on the ways we can think about the purposes and practices of education – and also research into education.

Psychological status associated with low quality of life in school-age children with neurodevelopmental disorders during COVID-19 stay-at-home period

AUTHOR(S)
Riyo Ueda; Takashi Okada; Yosuke Kita (et al.)

Published: October 2021   Journal: Frontiers in Psychiatry

This study seeks to ascertain how the COVID-19 stay-at-home period has affected the quality of life (QOL) of children with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) who had experienced sleep schedules alteration and clarify what psychological status predicted low QOL in children with and without altered sleep patterns. Study participants were 86 children between 8 and 17 years of age (mean age, 11.7 years; 70 boys, 16 girls; mean intellectual quotient, 83.6). QOL was evaluated using the self-assessment KINDLR. Participants answered questions regarding depression and anxiety on a visual analog scale (VAS) for temporary mood. Their parents answered questionnaires regarding their maladaptive behaviors and differences in sleep patterns before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The student's t-test was performed to examine the presence or absence of sleep changes in the children, which affected QOL, temporary mood, and maladaptive behaviors. Multiple or simple linear regression analyses were also performed to identify the psychogenic factors that significantly affected decreased QOL for each group with and without changes in sleep schedule.

Predictors of family violence in North Carolina following initial COVID-19 stay-at-home orders

AUTHOR(S)
Laura Machlin; Meredith A. Gruhn; Adam Bryant Miller (et al.)

Published: October 2021   Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect

Although there is evidence that family violence increased in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic, few studies have characterized longitudinal trends in family violence across the course of initial stay-at-home orders. The purpose of the present study is to investigate patterns and predictors of family violence, such as child maltreatment and harsh punishment, during the first eight weeks of the pandemic after initial stay-at-home orders in North Carolina. Participants included 120 families with children ages 4–11 (53% non-White, 49% female) and a primary caregiver (98% female) living in rural and suburban areas in North Carolina. Participants were recruited based on high risk of pre-pandemic family violence exposure.

Child internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic among maltreating and non-maltreating families: examining the effects of family resources and the reminiscing and emotion training intervention

AUTHOR(S)
Brigid Behrens; Katherine Edler; Kreila Cote (et al.)

Published: October 2021   Journal: Child Abuse & Neglect

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on child functioning have been especially pronounced among low-income families. Protective factors, including sensitive reminiscing and sufficient family resources, may reduce the negative effects of the pandemic on child adjustment. The current study investigated how family resources during the pandemic, race, maltreatment, and pre-pandemic involvement in an emotion socialization intervention (Myears ago = 4.37, SD = 1.36) were associated with child internalizing symptoms during the pandemic. The study utilized longitudinal data following 137 maltreating and low-income nonmaltreating mother–child dyads (Mage = 9.08, SD = 1.88; 54.7% Male).

Changes in accessibility to emergency and community food services during COVID-19 and implications for low income populations in Hamilton, Ontario

AUTHOR(S)
Christopher D. Higgins; Antonio Páez; Gyoorie Kim (et al.)

Published: October 2021   Journal: Social Science & Medicine
This paper analyzes the changes in accessibility to emergency and community food services before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the City of Hamilton, Ontario. Many of these food services are the last line of support for households facing food insecurity; as such, their relevance cannot be ignored in the midst of the economic upheaval caused by the pandemic. This analysis is based on the application of balanced floating catchment areas and concentrates on households with lower incomes (<CAD40,000, approximately the Low Income Cutoff Value for a city of Hamilton's size).
Strengthening lower-income families: Lessons learned from policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Jeremy B. Kanter; Deadric T. Williams; Amy J. Rauer

Published: September 2021   Journal: Family Process
Families are navigating an unstable economy due to COVID-19. Financial stressors have the potential to strain intimate relationships and exacerbate prior inequities across lower-income families. Notably, the economic impact of COVID-19 disproportionately influenced Black and Latinx families. As a response to families' economic adversity during the pandemic, the federal government initiated the CARES Act. This type of federal response to lower-income families, however, is not new. The purpose of this paper is to contextualize and historicize previous and current efforts to mitigate the consequences of financial hardship on families by comparing the assumptions and efficacy of the Healthy Marriages Initiative and the CARES act.
31 - 45 of 69

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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.