Children and COVID-19 Research Library

This study set out to investigate adolescents’ levels of perceived well-being and to map how they went about caring for their well-being during the COVID-19 syndemic. Participants were 229 Italian adolescent high school students (48.9% males, mean age = 16.64). The research design was based on an exploratory, parallel, mixed-method approach. A multi-method, student-centered, computer-assisted, semi-structured online interview was used as the data gathering tool, including both a standardized quantitative questionnaire on perceived well-being and an open-ended question about how adolescents were taking charge of their well-being during the COVID-19 health emergency.

As adolescence is the most sensitive period of human development, characterized by many physical, psychological, cognitive and emotional changes that affect all adolescents, some more to some less also not forgetting that in recent years we have faced a difficult situation caused by COVID 19, a period of dealing with many health problems, loss of loved ones, closing schools and switching to online learning, isolation social. This study is focused on adolescence and specifically depression in adolescents of lower secondary schools and upper secondary schools in the municipality of Pristina to know more closely the consequences of COVID 19 in adolescents.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, schools were closed, teachers had to teach from home and after a while, they had to return to the classroom while the pandemic was still on-going. Even before the pandemic, teachers were already more at risk for burn-out syndrome compared to the general population. Furthermore, not much research pertaining to this population has been carried out during the pandemic and so the impact of the pandemic on teachers' risk of burn-out syndrome and recovery need remains unclear. The aim of the current study was to fill this knowledge gap and map out the impact on risk of burn-out syndrome and recovery need at different time points during the pandemic. At baseline, 2,167 secondary school teachers in Flanders were included in this prospective study. Questionnaire data were obtained at ten different time points between September 2019 and August 2021.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in the closure of schools to slow the spread of the virus across populations, and the administration of vaccines to protect people from severe disease, including school children and adolescents. In Zambia, there is currently little information on the acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines among school-going children and adolescents despite their inclusion in the vaccination programme. This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccines among secondary school pupils in Lusaka, Zambia. A cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2022 to October 2022.

Establishing how the Covid-19 pandemic and related lockdowns have affected adolescent mental health is a key societal priority. Though numerous studies have examined this topic, few have focused on the wellbeing of pupils who experience school bullying. This is particularly important as pupils who experience bullying represent a vulnerable group at increased risk of mental illness. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the relationship between experience of bullying and adolescent wellbeing during lockdown and subsequent re-opening of schools. It used the TeenCovidLife dataset to examine the relationship between experience of bullying and pupils’ perceived stress and wellbeing across three timepoints. Pupils aged 12–17 (n = 255) completed surveys during the first Covid-19 lockdown (May-July 2020), when they returned to school after the first lockdown (August-October 2020), and during the summer term of 2021 (May-June 2021).

This study aimed to identify barriers and facilitators to comprehensive, school-based physical activity (PA) promotion among adolescents prior to and during the coronavirus disease of 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, considering the perspectives of students, parents, and school staff. Data were collected from 2020 to 2021 using semi-structured individual interviews with students (n = 15), parents (n = 20), and school staff (n = 8) at a Title I middle school (i.e. high percentage of students from low-income families). Two theoretical frameworks guided analysis: the Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program framework and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory. Using an iteratively developed codebook, data were coded, thematically analyzed, and synthesized. PA barriers and facilitators were present throughout the school day, at home, and in the community. Key determinants included pandemic-induced challenges (e.g. COVID-19 exposure); neighborhood characteristics/weather (e.g. neighborhood safety); school–family communication/collaboration; implementation climate (i.e. school staff’s support for programming); time, spatial, and monetary resources (e.g. funding); staffing capacity/continuity and school champions; staffing creativity and adaptability; PA opportunities before, during, and after school; and child’s motivation/engagement.

Since the coronavirus COVID-19 was identified as an international public health emergency in 2020, many studies on the perceptions of students in higher education have been published concerning it. Although young students’ perceptions also influence decision making and actions, their perceptions of COVID-19 have, so far, been little studied. Therefore, to increase knowledge about their understanding of COVID-19, a cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted as a drawing survey in two schools in the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region, Morocco. The participants were 94 high school students (aged 14–19). The drawings were analyzed by inductive and deductive content analysis. The findings show that the majority of the students knew the archetypal representation of COVID-19. They had a good grasp of the COVID-19, how it spreads, and how to stop it from spreading. Some students were aware of the potential dangers associated with COVID-19. Admittedly, misrepresentations related to fear and unfamiliarity with COVID-19 lead to mental health issues that undermine the key factors in students’ academic success. Younger children’s representations were dominated by magical thinking that reduces COVID-19 to preventive measures.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to many adverse mental health consequences from the lockdown. It caused an exacerbation of depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders. Among the affected populations, high school students were one of the most commonly affected groups. This study is aimed to assess the psychological impact as well as the prevalence of depression and anxiety levels among high school female students during the COVID-19 outbreak in Medina, Saudi Arabia. This is a cross-sectional study that was conducted on a total of 300 high-school female students in Medina, Saudi Arabia between April 2021 and June 2021. Data were collected via an online survey to measure depression and anxiety using the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7) questionnaires, respectively.

Computer vision syndrome (CVS) can be described as ocular-related symptoms that result from prolonged exposure and use of computers, smartphones, tablets, and other devices with digital displays. The main objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of CVS among school-age children, the associated signs, risk factors, and the association between the disease before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. The study employed a descriptive cross-sectional research design. The targeted population was school-going children aged 6 to 18 in the Jazan region in the Southwest of Saudi Arabia. A sample of 440 participants was selected to represent the population under study. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Sociodemographic characteristics were recorded, such as age, gender, education level, parents’ education, occupation, frequency, and intensity of eye symptoms if present. Results: Most of the participants were adolescents between 16 and 18 and at a high-school education level.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has caused significant challenges for adolescent mental health. This study aimed to survey adolescent students in China to determine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on their mental health. A multicenter cross-sectional comparative investigation was conducted in March 2022. It collected demographic information and survey data related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 and Generalized Anxiety Disorder Screener scales were used for objective assessment of depression and anxiety.

The study aims to understand the level of perceived stress and related influencing factors among the urban and rural senior high school students in China and their channels of coping with the stress, when they shifted from home-based online learning to on-campus learning after their return to school during the post-Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic period. From January to March 2021, the Chinese Perceived Stress Scale (SSCPs-14) and a self-designed questionnaire were used for the online survey among the senior high school students from six secondary schools (three from cities and three from counties) in three provinces of China (Shandong, Shanghai and Sichuan) who were selected by convenient sampling. Descriptive analysis, t-test, χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the data.

Restrictions due to COVID-19 lockdowns reduced the possibilities of children and adolescents for being active, with negative consequences in adopting a healthy lifestyle. This study aims to compare Greek adolescents’ self-reported weekly participation in physical activity, during and before the two initial strict lockdowns, due to COVID-19. Secondary aims were to examine these differences with regard to gender, and associations between weekly physical activity participation with health status variables. Three hundred and sixty-three adolescents (Ν=363) from secondary schools, in the Greek territory (108 boys and 255 girls) filled in the Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Physical Activity Questionnaire and the TNO-AZL Questionnaire for Children’s Health-Related Quality of Life Children’s Form, online. It was a cross-sectional study and data were collected during first and second strict lockdowns, from different adolescents who filled in the above online questionnaires once.

The majority of high school–aged adolescents obtain less than the recommended amount of sleep per night, in part because of imposed early school start times. Utilizing a naturalistic design, the present study evaluated changes in objective measurements of sleep, light, and physical activity before (baseline) and during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic (during COVID-19) in a group of US adolescents. Sixteen adolescents (aged 15.9 ± 1.2 years, 68.8% female) wore an actigraphy monitor for 7 consecutive days during an in-person week of school before the pandemic (October 2018-February 2020) and again during the pandemic when instruction was performed virtually (May 2020). Delayed weekday sleep onset times of 1.66 ± 1.33 h (p < 0.001) and increased sleep duration of 1 ± 0.87 h (p < 0.001) were observed during COVID-19 compared with baseline. Average lux was significantly higher during COVID-19 compared with baseline (p < 0.001). Weekday physical activity parameters were not altered during COVID-19 compared with baseline, except for a delay in the midpoint of the least active 5 h (p value = 0.044). This analysis provides insight into how introducing flexibility into the traditional school schedule might influence sleep in adolescents.

Mental health consequences and behavior change has been described in elite athletes following the vast impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world of sports. However, most study samples have been of limited size, and few studies have assessed student-athletes. This study aimed to analyze perceived mental health impact, measured as clinical degree of depression and anxiety, worry about one's sport and about one's career, and behavioral change with respect to video gaming behavior, in high-school athletes in Sweden. Data on anxiety and depression as well as on perceived behavioral changes during COVID-19 were collected from students at sports high schools in Sweden (N = 7,025) in February 2021, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic continues to unfold globally, which harms the public’s mental health. Adolescents’ mental health is affected by social isolation and lockdown during the COVID-19 epidemic. The implicit theory of thoughts-emotion-behavior states that individuals with a growth mindset believe that thoughts, emotions, and behaviors can be changed through effort and tend to persist in pursuing higher goals and maintain enthusiasm as well as cope with stress resiliently, thus having higher gritty and levels of mental health. This study aimed to explore the role of grit and coping strategies in the influence of the growth mindset on adolescents’ mental health during the COVID-19 epidemic period. A total of 1564 participants (Mage = 17.02, 760 boys, 804 girls) from three high schools in China were recruited to complete The Self-report Questionnaire-20, The Growth Mindset Scale, The Short Grit Scale, and The Coping Style Scale to evaluate mental health, growth mindset, grit, and positive coping strategies, respectively.