Children and COVID-19 Research Library

Changes in daily routine and social fabric resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic had an effect on children and adolescents. The objective of this study was to know the mood, emotions, and behaviors of children and adolescents during the COVID-19 lockdown. This was a prospective, descriptive, cross-sectional study. Parents and/ or caregivers of children and adolescents aged 3-15 years in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires were asked about their perceptions of the mood, behaviors, and emotions of children and adolescents during the lockdown.

Using data from the UK, we show that girls have been affected more than boys by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of their mental wellbeing. These gender differences are more pronounced in lower-income families. Our results are consistent with previous findings of larger pandemic effects on mental health of women.

Since the onset of COVID-19 pandemic, concerns have been raised about the effects of the pandemic on youth with pre-existing mental health disorders. The present study aimed to explore change in emotional and behavioral symptoms (mood states) and daily behaviors during the lockdown in a clinical sample of children and adolescents in Greece. A cross-sectional survey, using the CoRonavIrus Health Impact Survey (CRISIS) Questionnaire, was completed by 738 parents of children and adolescents aged 2–18 years attending 12 outpatient child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) across four geographical regions in Greece.

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected the mental health of children, adolescents, and their parents. This study aimed to assess the emotional and behavioural changes in children and adolescents and their association with parental depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. On 7 May 2020 during COVID-19 lockdown, an online questionnaire was distributed through social media and made available for 10 days. Data were collected from parents of children aged 4 to 17 years. The Bangla version of the parent-rated version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to determine the behavioural and emotional disturbances of the children and adolescents. The Bangla version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) was used to assess the depression status of parents.

The COVID-19 outbreak and related confinement have highly impacted psychological health among children and adolescents. This study aimed to explore the potential risk factors for depression among primary and middle school students and provide advices for psychological interventions during the outbreaks. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among 18 primary and middle school students via quota sampling in Beijing during March 2020. The Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) was used to assess depression. Differences between characteristics and depression were examined by chi-square tests. Multivariate logistic regression was used to reveal the potential risk factors for depression. A total of 7377 participants were included.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the moderating effect of technology use for friendship maintenance in the associations between self-isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic and friendship quality, measured 6 months later (Time 2). Participants were 1,567 seventh and eighth graders (51% female; 51% white; Mage = 13.47) from the United States. They completed questionnaires on friendship quality at Time 1, and self-isolation during COVID-19 and technology use for friendship maintenance and friendship quality at Time 2.

This study aimed to assess the effects of mental health interventions for children, adolescents, and adults not quarantined or undergoing treatment due to COVID-19 infection. It searched 9 databases (2 Chinese-language) from December 31, 2019, to March 22, 2021. It included randomised controlled trials of interventions to address COVID-19 mental health challenges among people not hospitalised or quarantined due to COVID-19 infection. It synthesized results descriptively due to substantial heterogeneity of populations and interventions and risk of bias concerns.

This study aims to test whether parental factors including internalizing symptoms, parenting style, and confidence in assisting with remote learning conferred risk/resilience for children with/without ADHD's learning and emotional outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic. 291 parents of children (ages 6-13; n = 180 males) with (n = 148) and without ADHD completed questionnaires online (April-July 2020).

The COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented move to emergency remote learning around the world, leading to increased digital screen time for children and adolescents. This review highlights the potential risk of increased screen time to the eye and general health and makes recommendations to mitigate the risks posed. A narrative review of evidence of increased digital time during the COVID-19 pandemic, the risks linked to increased screen time and offer possible steps to mitigate these in students.

Good quality friendships and relationships are critical to the development of social competence and are associated with quality of life and mental health in childhood and adolescence. Through social distancing and isolation restrictions, the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on the way in which youth socialize and communicate with friends, peers, teachers and family on a daily basis. In order to understand children's social functioning during the pandemic, it is essential to gather information on their experiences and perceptions concerning the social changes unique to this period. The objective of this study was to document children and adolescents' perspectives regarding their social life and friendships during the COVID-19 pandemic, through qualitative interviews. Participants (N = 67, 5–14 years) were recruited in May and June 2020. Semi-structured interviews were conducted via a videoconferencing platform. A thematic qualitative analysis was conducted based on the transcribed and coded interviews (NVivo).

Drawing on integrated data from focus groups and diary entries, we explored the impact of the COVID- 19 pandemic on child well- being for children from five Majority World Countries. We focus on the disruptions the pandemic caused, the adjustments made in response to these, and children's vision of a post- pandemic world. Underlying children's experiences of loss, boredom and concerns about educational progress, was an awareness of systemic inequalities that disadvantaged them or oth-ers in their community.

The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately affected vulnerable children and youth. In Japan, despite evidence that the paediatric age group holds a lower risk of infection than the older population, there was a nationwide closure of schools as an early public health measure. Acknowledging that school closures brought heightened psychological and physical stress among Japanese children, we aimed to explore vulnerable children’s experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan, focusing on socially disadvantaged subset of the population. This study used an adapted version of the ‘Perceived Stress Scale for Children’, with additional free-text space, delivered online to children attending three non-profit organisations which provide support for this group of vulnerable persons and families experiencing social disadvantage. Simple descriptive analysis was undertaken on the quantitative data; we used thematic and content analysis for the qualitative data.

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental wellbeing of children 8–18 years old with chronic conditions, by comparing pandemic data with pre-pandemic data and with healthy peers. Data were obtained from two ongoing longitudinal cohorts: the PROactive cohort study following children with a chronic condition, and the WHISTLER population cohort. Mental wellbeing was assessed by three indicators: life satisfaction, internalising symptoms, and psychosomatic health. The stringency of the COVID-19-related lockdown was considered a moderating factor. Data on chronic patients were recorded before (n = 934, 65% girls) and during (n = 503, 61% girls) the pandemic, and compared to healthy peers during the pandemic (n = 166, 61% girls).

The present research investigated children and adolescents’ explicit and spontaneous representation of the COVID-19 pandemic and their related emotions, cognitions, and coping strategies. It explored the self-reported protective factors and coping mechanisms, in addition to similar attributional emotional experiences, i.e., the ways participants evaluated others’ pandemic experiences. The sample consisted of 155 children and adolescents aged 10 to 13 (M = 10.70, SD = 0.85, 56.1% females). A 12-item survey was designed and data were analyzedusing both qualitative and quantitative methods.