CONNECT

Children and COVID-19 Research Library

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

RESULTS: 68 SORT BY:

1 2 3

Library Home | Reset filters

FILTER BY TOPIC:

ADVANCED SEARCH:

Select one or more filter options and click search below.

PUBLICATION DATE:

UNICEF Innocenti Publication

UNICEF Publication

Open Access

Reset filters

JOURNAL ACCESS FOR UNICEF STAFF CONTACT US

16 - 30 of 68

1 2 3

Journal article

Finding home in online community: exploring TikTok as a support for gender and sexual minority youth throughout COVID-19

AUTHOR(S)
Alexa Hiebert; Kathy Kortes-Miller

Published: December 2021 Journal: Journal of LGBT Youth

In March 2020, with the global number of COVID-19 cases on the rise, many people were advised to stay at home and leave only for necessities. Across the globe, people were on lockdown. Very little is known about how this period of quarantine due to the pandemic has impacted the lives of gender and sexual minority youth. Between February and June of 2020, TikTok—a short- video sharing platform—was the most downloaded social media app. The purpose of this study was to use a digital ethnographic approach on TikTok to explore the experiences of gender and sexual minority youth during COVID-19. Thematic analysis of the data collected resulted in an overarching theme of TikTok as a supportive community. Additionally, four sub themes were examined including support with family relationships, identity formation, community and belonging and sharing knowledge and information. This study demonstrates the need for further research into gender and sexual minority youth social media cultures and highlights the resilience and resourcefulness of gender and sexual minority youth when faced with unprecedented circumstances.

Cite this research | Open access | Language: English | Topics: Social Protection, Well-being and Equity | Tags: adolescent psychology, adolescent well-being, communication, COVID-19 response, gender based violence, gender equality, gender issues, lockdown, psychological distress, social distance, social media

Journal article

Smartphone and social media use contributed to individual tendencies towards social media addiction in Italian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Davide Marengo; Matteo Angelo Fabris; Claudio Longobardi (et al.)

Published: December 2021 Journal: Addictive Behaviors

Adolescents in remote education during the COVID-19 pandemic had few opportunities to socialize in person, resulting in a significant rise in the use of social networks or instant messaging applications. However, excessive use may promote addictive tendencies towards these platforms, with negative consequences for adolescents’ well-being. This study investigated the prevalence of smartphone and social media application use in early-to-late adolescents in remote education. It examined the relative impact of different social media applications on self-reported tendencies toward social media addiction. The sample consisted of 765 Italian adolescents (Age: M = 14.11 ± 2.2; 401 females) who reported on use of the smartphone, social media applications, namely WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Instagram, Snapchat, Telegram, Messenger, and YouTube.

Cite this research | Open access | Vol.: 126 | Language: English | Topics: Education, Social Protection, Well-being and Equity | Tags: adolescent health, adolescent psychology, adolescent well-being, behavioural change, COVID-19 response, lockdown, remote learning, school attendance, social distance, social media | Countries: Italy

Journal article

Determining the relationship between loneliness and internet addiction among adolescents during the covid-19 pandemic in Turkey

AUTHOR(S)
Arzu Sarıalioğlu; Tutku Atay; Duygu Arıkan

Published: November 2021 Journal: Journal of Pediatric Nursing

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between the levels of loneliness adolescents feel during the pandemic, and their respective levels of internet addiction. The sample of the study consists of 482 adolescents who volunteered to participate in the study. All participants had the cognitive competence to express themselves, and had access to the Internet. Participants filled out a Google Docs form including the “Descriptive Information Form”, “ULS-SF” and “IASA”, which were used to collect data.

Evidence Synthesis and other Reviews

Reexamining social media and socioemotional well-being among adolescents through the Lens of the COVID-19 pandemic: a theoretical review and directions for future research

AUTHOR(S)
Jessica L. Hamilton; Jacqueline Nesi; Sophia Choukas-Bradley

Published: November 2021 Journal: Perspectives on Psychological Science

Social media has rapidly transformed the ways in which adolescents socialize and interact with the world, which has contributed to ongoing public debate about whether social media is helping or harming adolescents. The COVID-19 pandemic has magnified both the challenges and opportunities of adolescents’ social-media use, which necessitates revisiting the conversation around teens and social media. In this article, we discuss key aspects of adolescent social-media use and socioemotional well-being and outline how these issues may be amplified in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses this as a springboard to outline key future research directions for the field, with the goal of moving away from reductionist approaches and toward a more nuanced perspective to understand the who, what, and when of social-media use and its impact on adolescent well-being. It conclude with a commentary on how psychological science can inform the translation of research to provide evidence-based recommendations for adolescent social-media use.

Cite this research | Open access | Language: English | Topics: Social Protection, Well-being and Equity, Mental Health | Tags: adolescent psychology, adolescent well-being, COVID-19 response, lockdown, mental health services, mental stress, psychological distress, social distance, social media

Journal article

Longitudinal association between smartphone ownership and depression among schoolchildren under COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Masaki Adachi; Michio Takahashi; Hiroki Shinkawa (et al.)

Published: November 2021 Journal: Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology

Under the COVID-19 pandemic, concerns regarding prolonged screen time and mental health effects in children have increased. This study examined the association of depression with smartphone ownership in school children at four time points: September 2019, July 2020, December 2020, and March 2021. The analysis revealed an interaction between group and time, indicating that depressive symptoms among smartphone owners were significantly more severe than in the other group. These results were clearer for fourth-year students, pointing that smartphone possession at younger ages may be a risk factor for mental health in the new lifestyle caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Cite this research | Open access | No. of pages: 5 | Language: English | Topics: Education, Mental Health | Tags: child mental health, COVID-19 response, lockdown, mental health services, mental stress, psychological distress, remote learning, school attendance, school-age population, social distance, social media | Countries: Japan

Journal article

Social isolation, loneliness, and mobile phone dependence among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: roles of parent–child communication patterns

AUTHOR(S)
Rui Zhen; Lu Li; Guoqiang Li (et al.)

Published: November 2021 Journal: International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction

During the COVID-19 pandemic, mobile phone dependence (MPD) became a common addictive behavior among adolescents because of social isolation. To understand the underlying mechanisms of the impact of social isolation on MPD, this study examined the mediating role of loneliness and the moderating role of parent–child communication patterns on social isolation and MPD. Six hundred and eighty-three adolescents from a middle school in Huang’gang city, China, were recruited to complete a self-report questionnaire. Data analysis comprised latent profle analysis and structural equation modelling.

Cite this research | Open access | No. of pages: 15 | Language: English | Topics: Mental Health | Tags: adolescent psychology, adolescent well-being, COVID-19 response, lockdown, mental health services, mental stress, parent-child relationship, psychological distress, social distance, social media | Countries: China

Journal article

Humour and TikTok memes during the 2020 pandemic lockdown: tensions of gender and care faced by Chinese mothers working from home

AUTHOR(S)
Xiao Han; Giselinde Kuipers

Published: October 2021 Journal: China Information

This article examines a humorous meme that emerged on Chinese TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic in China. Using #workfromhomewithchildcare, Chinese working mothers shared humorous clips of their experience of working from home with their children who were also at home during the pandemic lockdown. By analysing the themes, protagonists, and humour techniques of a sample of 85 videos, we ask why the mood of these clips is so strongly marked by humour, and what this tells us about contemporary Chinese society, particularly about the position of women and mothers. This study shows that these memetic clips consist of three distinct genres of mothers working from home: (1) ‘balancing mothers’ who balance between work and childcare, (2) ‘pedagogic mothers’ who give childcare tips, and (3) ‘commercially oriented’ mothers who offer tutorials by means of product placement and advertisement. While these memes express what Mary Douglas called ‘a joke in the social structure’ without offering either relief or critique, they do create an online joking culture that offers temporary relief as well as awareness that others are in the same position.

Cite this research | Open access | Language: English | Topics: Education, Social Protection, Well-being and Equity | Tags: COVID-19 response, e-learning, lockdown, parent-child relationship, remote learning, school attendance, social distance, social media | Countries: China

Journal article

Exposure to social media racial discrimination and mental health among adolescents of color

AUTHOR(S)
Xiangyu Tao; Celia B. Fisher

Published: October 2021 Journal: Journal of Youth and Adolescence

Offline and online racial discrimination has been associated with mental health problems among adolescents of color. Pandemic shelter-at-home policies and the reignited racial justice movement increased the use of social media among youth of color, potentially exposing them to social media racial discrimination. Yet, it is unclear which aspects of social media significantly contributed to youth exposure to racial discrimination and associated mental health issues during this period. This study assessed the relationships among social media use (hours, racial intergroup contact, and racial justice civic engagement), individual and vicarious social media discrimination (defined as personally directed versus observing discrimination directed at others), and mental health among 115 black, 112 East/Southeast Asian, 79 Indigenous, and 101 Latinx adolescents (N = 407, 82.31% female, aged 15–18 years, M = 16.47, SD = 0.93).

Cite this research | Open access | No. of pages: 15 | Language: English | Topics: Social Protection, Well-being and Equity, Mental Health | Tags: COVID-19 response, lockdown, mental health services, mental stress, psychological distress, racial discrimination, school attendance, social distance, social inequality, social media | Countries: United States

Journal article

Internet use during COVID-19 lockdown among young people in low- and middle-income countries: Role of psychological wellbeing

AUTHOR(S)
Blossom Fernandes; Bilge Uzun; Caner Aydin (et al.)

Published: October 2021 Journal: Addictive Behaviors Reports

Problematic internet use in adolescents has been shown to significantly increase over the past few years, with COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns reinforcing this phenomena globally. This study sought to explore whether problematic internet use in specific countries was related to emotional well-being and importantly whether this is predicted by psychological distress. There is a growing number of studies showing that problematic internet use is increasingly prevalent in countries with emerging economies, however we have yet to find out to what extent other factors are influencing this behaviour in adolescents and young people. This study invited young people from countries such India, Mexico, Philippines and Turkey to complete a set of self-reports on their daily internet habits, social media use, alongside questions on psychological distress, self-esteem, loneliness and escapism.

Cite this research | Vol.: 14 | No. of pages: 6 | Language: English | Topics: Mental Health | Tags: adolescent psychology, adolescent well-being, COVID-19 response, internet, lockdown, mental health services, mental stress, multi-country, psychological distress, school attendance, social distance, social media

Journal article

Cybervictimization and well-being among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating roles of emotional self-efficacy and emotion regulation

AUTHOR(S)
Fabian Schunk; Franziska Zeh; Gisela Trommsdorff

Published: October 2021 Journal: Computers in Human Behavior

Cybervictimization has been linked to adverse psychological consequences but little is known about the mechanisms linking cybervictimization to lower well-being. Two studies examined emotional self-efficacy and distinct emotion regulation strategies as potential mediators in the relationship between cybervictimization and lower well-being among German adolescents during the school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. In Study 1, 107 adolescents (Mage = 15.76) reported their cybervictimization frequency, emotional self-efficacy beliefs, and aspects of well-being (i.e., self-esteem, perceived social support, and subjective well-being during the COVID-19 related school closures). Emotional self-efficacy mediated the link between cybervictimization and all well-being measures. Specifically, cybervictimization was related to lower well-being through lower self-efficacy for managing negative emotions. For further examination, in Study 2, 205 adolescents (Mage = 15.45) were asked to report their cybervictimization experiences, use of specific emotion regulation strategies (rumination, reappraisal, and suppression), and well-being (i.e., self-esteem and life satisfaction).

Journal article

Children’s screen and problematic media use in the United States before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Lauren Eales; Sarah Gillespie; Reece A. Alstat (et al.)

Published: September 2021 Journal: Child Development

This mixed methods study examined parent-reported child screen media use before and during the COVID-19 pandemic by examining 2019–2020 changes in parent perceptions of media, screen media use (SMU), and problematic media use (PMU) in children aged 2–13 years (N = 129; 64 boys, 64 girls, 1 nonbinary; 90.7% White, 4.6% Hispanic/Latino, 0.8% Black, 8.5% multiethnic; primarily middle-to-high income). Quantitative analyses showed a significant SMU and PMU increase (medium effect size). There was a steeper increase in PMU among school-age (older) children. Together, the qualitative and quantitative results suggest that the PMU and SMU increase were influenced by distal, proximal, and maintaining factors including the COVID-19 pandemic, distance learning, child behaviors, other children, parental mediation, and positive media reinforcement.

Journal article

Effectiveness of disseminating school physical activity information on Facebook during a pandemic: a mixed-method analysis

AUTHOR(S)
Allison Ross; Jendayi Edmeade; Tyler Prochnow

Published: September 2021 Journal: Journal of School Health

Social media is an important communication tool during times of crisis because of its vast reach. Understanding the effectiveness of sharing public health guidance and promoting schoolchildren's physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic can inform dissemination best practices. This study classified 418 posts from parent/community members of a school-based physical activity Facebook group by content type, and used concurrent mixed methods to examine (1) differences in dissemination effectiveness (reactions, shares, and comments) between two pandemic phases and (2) themes and sentiments of comments. Phase I included school closures through the release of national school re-entry guidelines (March 1, 2020 – May 15, 2020) and Phase II extended through the school year start (May 16, 2020 – August 1, 2020).

Journal article

Physical distancing messages targeting youth on the social media accounts of Canadian public health entities and the use of behavioral change techniques

AUTHOR(S)
Sheryll Dimanlig-Cruz; Arum Han; Samantha Lancione (et al.)

Published: September 2021 Journal: BMC Public Health

Physical distancing (PD) is an important public health strategy to reduce the transmission of COVID-19 and has been promoted by public health authorities through social media. Although youth have a tendency to engage in high-risk behaviors that could facilitate COVID-19 transmission, there is limited research on the characteristics of PD messaging targeting this population on social media platforms with which youth frequently engage. This study examined social media posts created by Canadian public health entities (PHEs) with PD messaging aimed at youth and young adults aged 16–29 years and reported behavioral change techniques (BCTs) used in these posts.

Cite this research | No. of pages: 11 | Language: English | Topics: Health | Tags: adolescent health, adolescent psychology, adolescent well-being, behavioural change, communication, COVID-19 response, lockdown, public services, social distance, social media | Countries: Canada

Journal article

Internet addiction and psychosocial problems among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study

AUTHOR(S)
Fatma Ozlem Ozturka; Sultan Ayaz-Alkaya

Published: September 2021 Journal: Archives of Psychiatric Nursing

This research was conducted to investigate the prevalence of internet addiction and psychosocial problems and associated factors among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Turkey. The population was composed of 9th and 10th grade students. The sample consisted of 1572 participants. Data were collected from parents of the students through a questionnaire, the Pediatric Symptom Checklist, and the Parent-Child Internet Addiction Test.

Journal article

Positive and negative online experiences and loneliness in Peruvian adolescents during the COVID-19 lockdown

AUTHOR(S)
Lucía Magis-Weinberg; Christopher L. Gys; Estelle L. Berger (et al.)

Published: August 2021 Journal: Journal of Research on Adolescence

Global COVID-19 lockdowns have disrupted adolescents’ in-person social networks, increasing likelihood of loneliness. Social media can help adolescents maintain and develop peer relationships across distance. In this short longitudinal study with 735 Peruvian adolescents (ages: 11–17) from low-to-middle-income urban settings, we investigated whether online experiences relate to loneliness during initial stages of lockdown. Loneliness remained constant between week 6 and 11 of lockdown, was higher for females and similar across school-grades. Positive and negative online experiences were more frequent for older students, and females experienced more negative online experiences than males. Greater positive online experiences related to lower loneliness, with the reverse pattern for negative online experiences. Our results suggest that positive online experiences may mitigate loneliness during physical isolation.

Cite this research | Open access | No. of pages: 17 | Language: English | Topics: Education, Mental Health | Tags: adolescent psychology, adolescent well-being, COVID-19 response, lockdown, mental health services, mental stress, psychological distress, school attendance, social distance, social media | Countries: Peru

16 - 30 of 68

1 2 3

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.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE DATABASE

Read the latest quarterly digest on children and disabilities.

The second digest discussed children and violence during the pandemic.

The first digest covers children and youth mental health under COVID-19.

Subscribe to updates on new research about COVID-19 & children

Campaign

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.

Visit the page

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER

CONNECT

MENU

Children and COVID-19 Research Library

RESULTS: 68 SORT BY:

1 2 3

FILTER BY TOPIC:

ADVANCED SEARCH:

PUBLICATION DATE:

Share:

Sign up to Innocenti news

CONNECT

MENU

Children and COVID-19 Research Library

RESULTS: 68 SORT BY: NEWEST OLDEST ALPHABETICAL A-Z ALPHABETICAL Z-A 1 2 3

FILTER BY TOPIC:

ADVANCED SEARCH:

PUBLICATION DATE:

Share:

RESULTS: 68 SORT BY:

1 2 3