Children and COVID-19 Research Library

Literature has demonstrated the adaptive function of identity development and family context toward manifestation of problem behaviors in adolescence. The present research investigates: a) the influence of dysfunctional family dynamics on the Internet use; b) the impact that psychological and physical sensations - following excessive Internet use - can have on the quality of family relationships. The research involved 150 Italian students (65 males and 85 females) aged between 14 and 20 years (M =15.99, S.D = 1.94). The research lasted for 1 school year. Participants completed: an anamnestic questionnaire; the Family Assessment Device (FAD) in order to value the family functioning; and a self-report constructed ad hoc questionnaire, named “Adolescents and Digital Technologies” to measure frequency of use of social networks and Internet, the motivation for the use of social networks, the physical and psychological sensation perceived following their use.

The COVID-19 pandemic significantly affected family life, increasing parental stress around health, job losses, reduced salaries, and maintaining domestic life in lockdown and social isolation. The transition to home-schooling and remote work with school and workplace closures caused additional stressors as families began living, working, and educating in one place. This research aims to understand the relationship between the pandemic and parental stress, focusing on family well-being and established characteristics of the family unit that may cause some family members to experience the adverse consequences of the pandemic in more or less profound ways, especially mothers. Previous research shows that mothers carry more family responsibilities than fathers and can experience higher stress levels. This study employed a quantitative cross-sectional online survey to extend our understanding of the interaction between home-schooling, work and home life, and stress levels in a group of 364 parents. In total, 232 mothers and 132 fathers completed the survey.

Crisis communication in a pandemic is challenging for parents, who have to explain risks and prevention measures to their children without transferring their own worries. Studies about crises indicate, that inappropriate crisis communication with children can ignite fears, worries, and even trauma among them. Recommended parental communication strategies in such situations are: (1) to consider developmental level to ensure comprehensibility; (2) to address age-related concerns; and (3) to use naturally occurring situations to talk about the crisis. However, the application of such strategies during a world-wide crisis is not known yet. Thus, this study analyzed how parents explained their children the COVID-19 pandemic, which media they used, and which situations they employed.

The Covid-19 pandemic causes psychological stress, such as fear and anxiety, and requires exceptional recovery. Such conditions can lead to mental disorders and the risk of developing physical health even in a healthy person without a medical history. The purpose of this study was to find a theoretical model of the  relationship between family communication, physical resilience, and family economic well-being, to describe  the role of the family in maintaining family health during the pandemic, and describe the role of the family in maintaining family economic well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses a quantitative method with a descriptive and correlational approach. The population in Rancatungku Village, Bandung Regency, West Java Province, is an area affected by COVID-19, with a total sample of 420 respondents.

This study examined the relationship between variables about family members co-residing during the COVID-19 pandemic and anxiety about COVID-19, domestic violence from spouse, child abuse anxiety, internet addiction, and mental health as social problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 220 parents (70 male and 150 female, age; M = 41.6, SD = 34.4) were included in the analysis. Stepwise hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted with dependent variables of fear of COVID-19, spousal violence, anxiety regarding perpetrating child abuse, internet addiction, and mental health. The independent variables were basic variables related to family members such as family composition.

In response to the COVID-19, a 76-day city-wide strict lockdown was imposed in Wuhan, China. This study aimed to document the family’s psychological status during the lockdown and test the role of family functioning, children’s mental health, child-parent relationship as well as parenting time during pandemic on parenting stress. The results showed that nearly 18% of the children exhibited clinical-level mental health problems. The children’s mental health and child-parent conflict fully mediated general family functioning’s impact on parenting stress. The change in childcaring time moderated the effect of the children’s mental health problems and child-parent conflict on parenting stress.

Coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19)] pandemic, which surrounded the world, affected all individuals, especially families and children. In this study, it is aimed to examine the relationship between 'adolescents' family relationships and self-regulation skills during the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. This analytical-cross-sectional study was conducted with 294 adolescents aged 13-18 years who were reached via social Networks between June 20 and September 20, 2020. In data collection, the Youth Information Form, Family Assessment Scale, and Self-regulation Scale created by the researchers were used.

This study used uncertainty management theory to assess mothers’ COVID-19-related uncertainty sources and management strategies during the Delta variant outbreak as the fall 2021 school year approached. Twenty-five mothers living in Indiana were interviewed between July-August 2021. Data indicated four uncertainty sources: COVID-19 illness risk, children’s psychological health, reintegration, and COVID-19 vaccine/prevention rights. COVID-19 illness risk was the most prominent uncertainty theme, and mothers attempted to adapt to it when they could via strategies of strategic decision making, engaging in protective behaviors, and seeking information to guide decisions about their children’s safety. The start of school presented uncertainties about young children’s COVID-19 risk they deemed out of their control, and thus mothers reframed illness uncertainty as the responsibility of others to protect their children.

This study aimed to explore the role of family resilience in the relationship between parents' psychological stress and their perceptions of children's emotional and behavioral symptoms during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy. The COVID-19 lockdown threatened the well-being of parents, with a potentially cascading effect on children's adjustment. However, the negative impact of parents' stress on children's well-being may be attenuated in resilient families. During the Italian lockdown, an online survey was administered to 649 parents of at least one child aged between 5 and 17 years. Respondents completed the survey themselves and their child(ren). The Perceived Stress Scale, the Walsh Family Resilience Questionnaire, and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire were administered to parents.

The rapid spread of the pandemic due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, more commonly known as COVID-19, required sanitary measures, such as social distancing and quarantining, which represented non-normative stressors for Mexican families. This study aimed to obtaini evidence of the validity and reliability of a family coping scale in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. A questionnaire was developed containing 48 items, and responses were collected using Google forms with a total of 558 participants. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to obtain the reliability and validity of the scale.

This study aims to determine the role of the family in promoting an active and healthy lifestyle for children aged 3–12 years during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Qassim region in light of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 program. This study is important in defining the role of the family in promoting an active lifestyle for children during the COVID-19 pandemic because the family is primarily responsible for promoting a healthy lifestyle for children. Responses of 320 parents completing an online survey about their children's physical health during the pandemic were evaluated.

This study aimed to examine the bidirectional associations between adolscent siblings’ alcohol use before and during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spring 2020 and whether youths’ stress about missed social connections (i.e., social disruption stress) moderated these associations. The sample consisted of 682 families (2,046 participants) with two adolescent siblings (older siblings: Mage = 15.67 years, 51% female; younger siblings: Mage = 13.14 years, 48% female) and one parent (Mage = 45.15 years; 85% female) from five Midwestern U.S. states. Siblings reported on their own drinking and social disruption stress before and during the onset of the pandemic via online surveys.

Psychosocial stress during the COVID-19 pandemic is increasing particularly in parents. Although being specifically vulnerable to negative environmental exposures, research on psychosocial stress factors in infants’ and toddlers’ families during the pandemic is so far sparse. The CoronabaBY study investigates the perceived pandemic burden, parenting stress and parent and child mental health problems in families with children aged 0–3 years in Bavaria, Southern Germany. Further, the relationships between these psychosocial stressors are examined and sociodemographic characteristics that may be predictive of these factors will be explored. Participants were cross-sectionally surveyed via smartphone app. Standardized questionnaires on perceived pandemic burden, parenting stress, parental symptoms of depression and anxiety, infants’ crying, sleeping and feeding problems or toddlers’ emotional and behavioral problems were applied.

Reciprocal family influences in the food domain have been little explored, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. To fill in this gap, this study explored actor and partner effects between parents’ food modeling and parents’ and their adolescent children’s diet quality and satisfaction with food-related life (SWFoL); and the mediating role of diet quality between modeling and SWFoL. This study used a cross-sectional design. A sample of 430 different-sex dual-earner parents and one adolescent child were recruited in Rancagua, Chile, between March and June 2020. Parents answered the modeling dimension of the Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire. Parents and adolescents answered the Adapted Healthy Eating Index (AHEI) and the SWFoL Scale. Analyses were conducted using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model and structural equation modeling.

In 2020, parents' work-from-home days increased fourfold following the initial COVID-19 pandemic lockdown period compared to 2015–2019. At the same time, many daycares closed, and the majority of public schools offered virtual or hybrid classrooms, increasing the demand for household-provided childcare. Using time diaries from American Time Use Survey (ATUS) and looking at parents in dual-earner couples, this study examines parents' weekday workday time allocated to paid work, chores, and childcare in the COVID-19 era by the couple's joint work location arrangements. It determines the work location of the ATUS respondent directly from their diary and proxy the partner's work-from-home status using the share of workers reporting work from home in their occupation. When their partners worked on-site, mothers and fathers working from home spent more time on childcare, especially mothers, compared to those on-site; fathers spent more time on household chores. However, only mothers' total unpaid and paid work burden was higher.