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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

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

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481 - 495 of 960
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.
Longitudinal transactional relationships between caregiver and child mental health during the COVID-19 global pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Emily L. Robertson; Jennifer Piscitello; Ellyn Schmidt (et al.)

Published: November 2021   Journal: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health volume
Emerging work examining the psychological impact of COVID-19 on children and families suggests that the relationship between pandemic-related stress, child psychosocial functioning, and caregiver mental health are interrelated. However, much of this research is unidirectional and thus little is known about the bidirectional cascading effects children and caregivers may experience. The current study examined the transactional relationships between caregiver and child mental health over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Linguistically, racially, and ethnically diverse caregivers (N = 286) of young children completed measures of caregiver mental health, caregiver pandemic-related stress, and child mental health (i.e., externalizing, internalizing, prosocial behavior) across three time points in the spring of 2020.
Anxiety and depression in parents of children with autism spectrum disorder during the first COVID-19 lockdown: report from the ELENA cohort

AUTHOR(S)
Ela Miniarikova; Christelle Vernheta; Marianne Peries (et al.)

Published: November 2021   Journal: Journal of Psychiatric Research

The Covid-19 pandemic had a strong impact on mental health in the general population. This study conducted during the first lockdown in France considered parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) prospectively followed in the ELENA Cohort. This study aimed to (1) compare the Anxiety and Depression (AaD) levels during the lockdown between mothers and fathers, (2) compare the parent's AaD between the lockdown and the last ELENA follow-up visit, and (3) identify risk factors for parental AaD during lockdown among socio-demographic and children's clinical characteristics.

Relationships between local school closures due to the COVID-19 and mental health problems of children, adolescents, and parents in Japan

AUTHOR(S)
Kohei Kishida; Masami Tsuda; Polly Waite (et al.)

Published: November 2021   Journal: Psychiatry Research
The widespread impacts of COVID-19 have affected both child and parent mental health worldwide. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between school closures due to COVID-19 and child and parent mental health in Japan. A sample of 1,984 Japanese parents with children and adolescents aged 6–15 years participated. The parents responded to online questionnaires about their own mental health and that of their children cross-sectionally. Participants were divided into three school situations based on the past week: full school closure, partial school closure, and full school open.
Sleep disturbances in school-aged children 6–12 years during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey

AUTHOR(S)
Fadime Ustuner Top; Hasan Huseyin Cam

Published: November 2021   Journal: Journal of Pediatric Nursing

Sleep disturbances in childhood are an important pediatrics problem because of their influence on children's health and their strong correlation with behavior problems. The aim of the present study was to explore sleep disturbances during the COVID-19 pandemic in school-age children. A cross-sectional survey design was used for data collection. From 1 to 15 February 2021, the study utilized snowball sampling techniques to gather data through an online survey. Parents of 1040 6–12-year-old schoolchildren completed the Socio-demographic Information Questionnaire and the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was employed to pinpoint factors connected to sleep disturbances.

Strengthening mental health responses to COVID-19 in the Americas: a health policy analysis and recommendations

AUTHOR(S)
Amy Tausch; Renato Oliveira e Souza; Carmen Martinez Viciana (et al.)

Published: November 2021   Journal: The Lancet Regional Health - Americas
The COVID-19 pandemic is having a major impact on the mental health of populations in the Americas. Studies show high rates of depression and anxiety, among other psychological symptoms, particularly among women, young people, those with pre-existing mental health conditions, health workers, and persons living in vulnerable conditions. Mental health systems and services have also been severely disrupted. A lack of financial and human resource investments in mental health services, limited implementation of the decentralized community-based care approach and policies to address the mental health gap prior to the pandemic, have all contributed to the current crisis. Countries must urgently strengthen their mental health responses to COVID-19 by taking actions to scale up mental health and psychosocial support services for all, reach marginalized and at-risk populations, and build back better mental health systems and services for the future.
The effects of COVID-19-related stress among parents and children in Ohio child care programs: a mixed-methods study

AUTHOR(S)
Kimberly Burkhart; Sonia Minnes; Owusua Yamoah (et al.)

Published: November 2021   Journal: Children's Health Care
COVID-19-related stress effects on the caregiver and child are largely unexplored. Caregivers (N = 114) of children between the ages of 3 months and 10 years accessing Ohio child care completed a parent survey (fall 2020), and additional caregivers (N = 20) completed an interview. Caregivers reported a mean of 70 (SD = 19; scale 1–100) on COVID-19-related stress. In adjusted regression models, higher caregiver-reported COVID-19-related stress was associated with increased odds of child aggression and poor social skills. Exploratory analyses indicated that these associations may be partly mediated by the caregiver working from home and losing their temper. Qualitative findings reflect caregiver COVID-19 stress and complement quantitative findings. Caregivers and children who experience COVID-19 stress should be monitored for persistent problems.
Embracing vulnerability: how has the Covid-19 pandemic affected the pressures school leaders in Northern England face and how they deal with them?

AUTHOR(S)
Michael Jopling; Oliver Harness

Published: November 2021   Journal: Journal of Educational Administration and History
Research into the effects of pressure on school leaders has focused more on its impacts at the system level than on the human impact on leaders. Using theories of vulnerability, this paper attempts to redress this balance, examining the challenges school leaders in North East England faced during the initial phase of the Covid-19 pandemic and the support they accessed. Combining an online survey of 132 school leaders with in-depth interviews, the study found that the pandemic had an amplifying effect, increasing both leaders' responsibilities and the pressure on them. It also found that many find it difficult to admit when they are under pressure and have no source of support. This suggests new ways need to be found to help all leaders, and particularly male and secondary leaders, to embrace their vulnerability, access professional support, and increase schools' focus on the mental health of children and adults.
Supporting family and friends of young people with mental health issues using online technology: a rapid scoping literature review

AUTHOR(S)
Christine Migliorini; Danielle (Sui-Man) Lam; Carol Harvey

Published: November 2021   Journal: Early Intervention in Psychiatry

Family and friends are often the first and/or only support options used by young people (12–25 years) struggling with mental health issues. The overarching aim of this literature review is to map current practice in online interventions specifically targeting family and friends of young people with mental health issues, especially relevant in light of the current worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. A rapid scoping literature review was conducted searching health and psychology databases for online interventions targeting family and friends supporting a young person (12–25 years) struggling with a mental health issue. The search strategy was comprehensive and expert librarian endorsed. The final synthesis comprised 13 articles.

Impact of work routines on parents' and children's sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown

AUTHOR(S)
Ramkumar Aishworiy; Michael Teik Chung Lim; Mahesh Babu Ramamurthy (et al.)

Published: November 2021   Journal: Sleep Medicine

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of parental sleep and work arrangements on children's sleep duration during the national lockdown period, referred to as ‘Circuit Breaker’ (CB), due to COVID-19. A cross-sectional, anonymous, online questionnaire to parents with school-going children aged between 3 and 16 years was used. Child and parental sleep duration in relation to change in parental work arrangements, housing type and number of individuals in the household as reported by parents were evaluated. Descriptive statistics and tests of comparison were used to evaluate data.

Crisis response among essential workers and their children during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Margaret M. Sugg; Jennifer D. Runkle; Lauren Andersen (et al.)

Published: November 2021   Journal: Preventive Medicine
Limited research has been conducted on the mental health concerns of frontline and essential workers and their children during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States (U.S.). This study examined the association between working on the frontlines in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic (March to July 2020) and personal crisis text concerns (e.g., self-harm, suicidal thoughts, anxiety/stress, and substance abuse) for frontline essential workers and the children of frontline workers. It used a novel data set from a crisis texting service, Crisis Text Line (CTL), that is widely used throughout the U.S. Generalized Estimating Equations examined the individual association between eight specific crisis types (Depression, Stress/Anxiety, Self-Harm, Suicidal Thoughts, Substance Abuse, Isolation, Relationship Issues, and Abuse) and being in frontline work or being a child of a frontline worker during the early phase of the pandemic.
Narrative review: COVID-19 and pediatric anxiety

AUTHOR(S)
Kevin Walsh; William J. Furey; Narpinder Malhi

Published: November 2021   Journal: Journal of Psychiatric Research
The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has brought focus to the effects of anxiety on children. This study aimed to review the existing literature regarding the impact of the pandemic on pediatric anxiety. This review analyzed the existing literature between the open-sourced collection on PubMed inputting “anxiety disorder in children during pandemic” and “pediatric anxiety OR child anxiety AND COVID” and that of the Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry using the keywords “social anxiety AND COVID.” This yielded 149 + 312 (461) entries and 68 articles were selected. Anxiety was found to have a prevalence of 18.9–23.87% in children during the COVID-19 pandemic whereas adolescent populations demonstrated a prevalence of 15.4–39.9%. Female gender was the most studied risk factor and physical activity was the most documented preventative factor. This review supported the notion that the COVID-19 pandemic is a major contributor to anxiety in the pediatric population.
Prevalence and associated factors of anxiety among 538,500 Chinese students during the outbreak of COVID-19: A web-based cross-sectional study

AUTHOR(S)
Juan Wang; Zhenxing Mao; Dandan Wei (et al.)

Published: November 2021   Journal: Psychiatry Research
This study was conducted on elementary school students in Henan Province, China, from February 4th to 11th, 2020, during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic. The purpose of the study was to examine the prevalence of anxiety among students and identify the related risk factors contributing to anxiety. Demographic information and psychological status were assessed by using self-reported measures. The generalized anxiety disorder tool (GAD-7) and a multiple logistic regression model were used to assess anxiety and identify potential influencing factors. Cross-sectional data indicated that the overall anxiety prevalence was 13.4%. The prevalence of anxiety symptoms was highest among rural primary school students and lowest among city students.
Italian children’s well-being after lockdown: predictors of psychopathological symptoms in times of COVID-19

AUTHOR(S)
Marcella Caputi; Barbara Forresi; Ludovica Giani (et al.)

Published: October 2021   Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The first Italian lockdown imposed to fight the spread of COVID-19 caused important disruptions in families’ everyday lives. The main aim of this research was to investigate the predictors of psychopathology in children aged 5–10 years, immediately after the national 2-month lockdown. A total of 158 Italian parents (148 mothers, 10 fathers, mean age = 41 years) were recruited and asked to complete an online research concerning their 158 children (76 boys, mean age = 7.4 years). Parents completed questionnaires on parent–child conflict, resilience, temperament, behavior, and previous adverse childhood experiences. Hierarchical regressions showed that children’s psychopathology was predicted by low child resilience, high novelty seeking and harm avoidance, adverse experiences, and high flooding levels. Moreover, girls exposed to adverse experiences appeared more vulnerable to psychopathology.
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sedentary time and behaviour in children and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis

AUTHOR(S)
Adam Runacres; Kelly A. Mackintosh; Rachel L. Knight (et al.)

Published: October 2021   Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
The aim of this meta-analysis was to quantify the change in sedentary time during the COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on health outcomes in the general population. One thousand six hundred and one articles published after 2019 were retrieved from five databases, of which 64 and 40 were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis, respectively. Studies were grouped according to population: children (<18 years), adults (18–64 years) and older adults (>65 years). Average sedentary time was calculated, with sub-analyses performed by country, behaviour type and health outcomes. Children were most affected, increasing their sedentary time by 159.5 ± 142.6 min day−1, followed by adults (+126.9 ± 42.2 min day−1) and older adults (+46.9 ± 22.0 min day−1). There were no sex differences in any age group. Screen time was the only consistently measured behaviour and accounted for 46.8% and 57.2% of total sedentary time in children and adults, respectively. Increases in sedentary time were negatively correlated with global mental health, depression, anxiety and quality of life, irrespective of age. Whilst lockdown negatively affected all age groups, children were more negatively affected than adults or older adults, highlighting this population as a key intervention target. As lockdowns ease worldwide, strategies should be employed to reduce time spent sedentary.
481 - 495 of 960

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.

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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.