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Children and COVID-19 Research Library

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

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46 - 60 of 90
Staying online, staying connected: exploring the effect of online chatting on adolescents’ psychological well-being during COVID-19 quarantine

AUTHOR(S)
Yulei Feng; Qingyan Tong

Published: January 2022   Journal: Youth & Society
Rooted in scholarship of social connectedness and social support, this research raises the question: Can online chatting help mitigate the negative psychological influence of physical distancing during COVID-19? By a correlational and cross-sectional research design, the current study testified the mediating role of two factors—social connectedness and perceived social support in the relationship between online chatting and three indicators of psychological well-being (happiness, self-esteem, and loneliness) for adolescents. This research demonstrated the potential of online chatting in mitigating the severity of quarantine from the supplementary perspective of online communication effects on adolescents, which provided a further insight into understanding the ways in which adolescents use media during school closure. Possible contingent factors that should be paid special attention to in future researches are discussed.
An investigation of changing attitudes and behaviors and problematic internet use in children aged 8 to 17 years during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Tülay Kamaşak; Murat Topbaş; Nalan Ozen

Published: December 2021   Journal: Clinical Pediatrics

This study aimed to examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lifestyle, habits, and behavioral differences in children, and their changing internet use habits. The research was planned as a cross-sectional study involving 4892 children aged 8 to 17 years attending schools in the city center of Trabzon, Turkey. Children’s daily living activities, social habits, mood and temperament changes, and internet use were investigated before and during the pandemic. In terms of problematic internet use, internet addiction rates were evaluated using the validated Turkish-language version of the Parent-Child Internet Addiction Scale (PCIAT-20).

Parent-adolescent discrepancies in adolescent recreational screen time reporting during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Jason M. Nagata; Catherine A. Cortez; Puja Iyer (et al.)

Published: December 2021   Journal: Academic Pediatrics

This study aimed to describe the relationship between parent and adolescent reports of adolescent recreational screen time and to determine sociodemographic predictors of recreational screen time reporting differences during the COVID-19 pandemic. It analyzed data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study (ABCD, N=5,335, ages 10-14) a national prospective cohort study in the US collected in May 2020. It compared parent-reported, adolescent-reported, and a parent-adolescent differences in recreational screen time hours per day across five screen categories.

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.

Association of children’s physical activity and screen time with mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Pooja S. Tandon; Chuan Zhou; Ashleigh M. Johnson

Published: October 2021   Journal: JAMA Network Open

Children’s physical activity and screen time are likely suboptimal during the COVID-19 pandemic, which may influence their current and future mental health. To describe the association of physical activity and screen time with mental health among US children during the pandemic. This cross-sectional survey was conducted from October 22 to November 2, 2020, among 547 parents of children aged 6 to 10 years and 535 parent-child dyads with children and adolescents (hereinafter referred to as children) aged 11 to 17 years and matched down to 500 children per cohort using US Census–based sampling frames. Children aged 11 to 17 years self-reported physical activity, screen time, and mental health, and their parents reported other measures. Parents of children aged 6 to 10 years reported all measures. All 1000 cases were further weighted to a sampling frame corresponding to US parents with children aged 6 to 17 years using propensity scores.

Prevalence and impact of the use of electronic gadgets on the health of children in secondary schools in Bangladesh: a cross‐sectional study

AUTHOR(S)
S. M. Mahbubur Rashid; Jannatul Mawah; Ema Banik (et al.)

Published: October 2021   Journal: Health Science Reports

Use of technological gadgets has rapidly been increasing among adolescents, which may result in health issues and technology addiction. This study focuses on the prevalence of usage of technological gadgets and health-related complications among secondary school-going children of Bangladesh. A total of 1803 secondary school students from 21 different districts of Bangladesh participated in the study. The children were asked questions relating to their access to electronic gadgets, time spent on outdoor activities, and whether they experienced any health-complications as an after-effect of the usage. A binary logistic regression model was adapted considering time spent on gadgets as an independent variable and health problems (physical and mental) as the dependent variable.

A telehealth intervention for ensuring continuity of care of pediatric obesity during the CoVid-19 lockdown in Italy

AUTHOR(S)
Pierluigi Pecoraro; Francesca Gallè; Espedita Muscariello (et al.)

Published: October 2021   Journal: Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases
Restriction measures adopted during the Coronavirus Disease-19 pandemic favored unhealthy behaviors. Tele-health offered the opportunity to pursue alternative ways of chronic diseases management. This retrospective study sought to determine the effects of a telehealth counselling intervention during the lockdown to children and adolescents with obesity previously engaged in a family-based secondary care program in an outpatient clinic of South Italy.
Using fake news as means of cyber-bullying: The link with compulsive internet use and online moral disengagement

AUTHOR(S)
Alexandra Maftei; Andrei-Corneliu Holman; Ioan-Alex Merlici

Published: October 2021   Journal: Computers in Human Behavior
Online moral disengagement and cyberbullying can enhance fake news spreading. We explored the links between these variables and compulsive Internet use in a sample of 509 teenagers and adults aged 11 to 67. We investigated the effect of compulsive Internet use on cyberbullying through fake news creation and/or distribution, both direct and via moral disengagement, and the related differences between adults and teenagers. The indirect effect of compulsive Internet use on cyberbullying through moral disengagement was significant in adolescents, but not in adults. As assumed, teenagers scored significantly higher than adults on all the primary variables. Contrary to our expectations, no significant gender differences emerged, regardless of participants' age, in terms of compulsive Internet use, moral disengagement, nor cyberbullying. The results emphasize the importance of relevant online education programs designed to engage both teenagers and adults in critical thinking that might help in the fake news detection process, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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.
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).
Online interactions and problematic internet use of Croatian students during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Lucija Vejmelka; Roberta Matković

Published: September 2021   Journal: Information
The COVID-19 pandemic caused a transition to online services in almost all aspects of life. Today, online access is an important aspect of child well-being more than ever. The aim of the study was to investigate online activities and gender differences of children with a special focus on harmful online content, cyberbullying, and Internet addiction. Our research was conducted among students from one Croatian county (average age = 14.97, N = 494). The Internet Addiction Test, the European Cyberbullying Intervention Project Questionnaire, as well as questions constructed for the purposes of this research (e.g., online contents) were used. Between 20% and 30% of students spend four or more hours a day online. Furthermore, 14.57% of students showed moderate signs of addiction, and 1.42% already showed severe signs of addiction, where girls had significantly higher results.
Challenges of children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Canan Kuygun Karci; Asiye Arici Gurbuz

Published: September 2021   Journal: Nordic Journal of Psychiatry

This study aimed to understand the challenging effect of the pandemic on children and adolescents with ADHD.100 children and adolescents with ADHD aged 7–18 years were included in the study. They were evaluated in terms of internet addiction diagnostic criteria. Symptom severity was assessed using the CBCL, CPRS, and SNAP-IV.

Prevalence of internet addiction disorder and its correlates among clinically stable adolescents with psychiatric disorders in China during the COVID-19 outbreak

AUTHOR(S)
Zong-Lei Li; Rui Liu; Fan He (et al.)

Published: September 2021   Journal: Frontiers in Psychiatry

Since the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic emerged, Internet usage has increased among adolescents. Due to this trend, the prevalence of Internet addiction disorder (IAD) may have increased within this group. This study examined the prevalence of IAD and its correlates among clinically stable adolescents with psychiatric disorders in China during the COVID-19 outbreak. A multi-center, cross-sectional study was carried out between April 29 and June 9, 2020 in three major tertiary mental health centers in China. IAD and depressive symptoms were assessed using the Internet Addiction Test (IAT) and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), respectively.

Latent profile of internet and internet game usage among South Korean adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic

AUTHOR(S)
Dongil Kim; Junwon Lee; JeeEun Karin Nam

Published: September 2021   Journal: Frontiers in Psychiatry

Globally, more people are spending time on the Internet and gaming since the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Consequently, concerns about developing behavioral addiction of adolescents have been raised. Such risk could be greater for adolescents in South Korea where the majority of adolescents have access to the Internet and own a smartphone. In fact, statistics indicate that Korean youths are spending significantly more time on the Internet and gaming during the COVID-19 pandemic. Previous studies on the patterns of time spent on the Internet and Internet gaming show inconsistent results. The aim of this study is to investigate the latent profiles of the Internet and Internet game usage among adolescents in South Korea. Data from a national survey on elementary and middle school students across South Korea were used. The sample consists of 3,149 respondents, and 2,984 responses were analyzed after removing missing responses. Latent profile analysis was performed to investigate the number of latent profiles for the Internet and Internet game usage time. To validate the profiles, differences in problematic gaming behavior, sex, and neuroticism were examined.


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.
46 - 60 of 90

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