Children and COVID-19 Research Library

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.

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.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to face it have placed children and their caregivers in front of many challenges that could represent sources of stress. This work aims to explore the point of view of children through drawing, as a spontaneous means of expression, relating it to parents’ perceptions of children’s difficulties, strengths, and mentalization skills. The sample consists of 18 children (mean age = 8.22, SD = 1.79). Parents were asked to complete: a socio-demographic questionnaire with information on the impact of COVID-19 on the family, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and the Everyday Mindreading Scale. Children were asked to draw three moments: “Before” the pandemic, “During” the lockdown, and “After,” when the COVID-19 will be passed. The drawings were coded by constructing a content and expressive analysis grid, adapting coding systems found in the literature. Data were collected at the beginning of the summer of 2020, just after the first lockdown period (from March to May 2020 in Italy).

Studies from the past decades have shown that mood disorders are common during childhood and adolescence. This study aimed to estimate the point prevalence of depression in Omani children and adolescents during social distancing and lockdown and identify the risk factors for developing depressive symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is an analytical cross-sectional study conducted in May 2020, in which all young Omani people attending a mainstream school aged 8–18 years old were eligible to participate. Parents were asked to complete the online survey, which consisted of the parent version of the Mood and Feelings Questionnaire (MFQ-Parent). In addition, the option of a self-reported version (MFQ-Self) was provided in cases where children preferred to fill out the survey themselves. Logistic regression was used to identify the contributing socio-demographic variables associated with depressive symptoms.

Children are more likely to experience maltreatment and parental conflict in a pandemic context, which can exacerbate their vulnerability to psychological disorders. The purpose of the present study was to examine mental health symptoms in children aged 0 to 10 years and consider related factors from the perspectives of maltreatment and parental conflict during the COVID-19 lockdown. Participants were 1286 parents aged 18 years and over with children aged 0 to 10 years were included. Several multivariable linear regressions were used to analyze the data.

The COVID-19 pandemic can have a serious impact on children and adolescents’ mental health. This study focused on studies exploring its traumatic effects on young people in the first 18 months after that the pandemic was declared, distinguishing them also according to the type of informants (self-report and other-report instruments). It applied a meta-analytic approach to examine the prevalence of depression, anxiety, posttraumatic stress disorder, and psychological distress among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, considering the moderating role of kind of disorder and/or symptom, type of instrument, and continent.

In Ontario, Canada, school extracurricular activities and sports were modified or canceled for a prolonged period due to public health restrictions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study aims to examine the association of changes to extracurricular and sport participation and child and youth mental health. Data were collected on child and youth mental health symptoms (n = 908) and participation in extracurricular activities and sports in the 2019–2020 and 2020–2021 academic years.

This scoping review article concerns COVID-19 social impacts on youth between 15 and 24 years old. The article charts 108 scientific journal articles, published between 1 March 2020 and 1 November 2021, encompassing 27 different countries but primarily concerning the USA (30%) and Canada (12%). The reviewed studies tell the overall hardship of being young in pandemic times; they report collective experiences of isolation, constraint, loss of formative life moments, and reverberation of structural inequalities. But they also show that the pandemic is not just passively consumed by the youth of today; young people are likewise at the forefront of collective mitigation strategies and community support organizing.

In March 2020, the WHO declared a pandemic (COVID-19) due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus. In France, school closures and lockdowns were implemented. In this unprecedented context for French adolescents and children, the CONFEADO study surveyed children aged 9 to 18 years to assess their mental health, psychological distress, and resilience during and after the lockdown in relation to their living and housing conditions. To assess psychological distress, a psychometric tool (Children and Adolescent Psychological Distress Scale-CAPDS-10) was specifically designed for the research. This article presents the psychometric validity of the CAPDS-10. This cross-sectional study collected data from June 9 to September 14, 2020, from children and adolescents (9 to 18 years of age) via an online questionnaire after sending it to a large network of partners. Psychological distress, resilience, and trait anxiety were assessed using the CAPDS-10, the Child and Youth Resilience Measure (CYRM), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC). The CAPDS-10 measured perceived psychological distress in the most recent 2 weeks (primary endpoint). The predictive power of the CAPDS-10 was determined by statistical analysis.