Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Child Well-Being: A Four-Wave Longitudinal Study

• In Event: The impact of COVID on child development and learning loss

Abstract

As the COVID-19 pandemic further unfolds, it becomes a key theoretical and practical question how children deal with the pandemic and its quickly changing public health measures. Little empirical research has identified trajectories of child psychological well-being throughout different phases of the pandemic and explored which factors predict changes in child behavioral and emotional problems. This severely limits our understanding regarding the specific effects of lockdowns on child psychological welfare during the pandemic. The current study addressed this research gap by means of a naturalistically occuring quasi-experimental design: A (lockdown) – B (relaxation) – B (relaxation) – A (lockdown). We hypothesized (1) that child problem behavior and child emotional well-being would follow a wave-like trajectory with high levels during lockdowns while child family related well-being would steadily decline and (2) that parental stress would negatively impact child well-being trajectories while the parent-child relationship quality would positively impact well-being trajectories.
To this end, we collected parental reports on parental stress, child well-being, child problem behavior, and the parent-child relationship quality over four measurement occasions during the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany: from the first lockdown (T1 – spring 2020; N = 1,769) to the following period of relaxation (T2 – summer 2020; n = 873 and T3 – fall 2020; n = 729) on to the second lockdown (T4 – winter 2020/21; n = 748). Assessment of parental stress relied on 3 items. To measure child well-being, we adapted 12 items from the German translation of the KIDSCREEN-52 Health-Related Quality of Life Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (Ravens-Sieberer, 2006). Assessment of child problem behaviors relied on three modified subscales (emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity-inattention) of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997). To assess positive and negative aspects of parent-child relationship quality, we modified 8 items from the Network of Relationships Inventory (Furman & Buhrmester, 1985).
Our results showed different developmental trajectories. While child problem behavior and emotional well-being recovered during relaxation periods, child family related well-being steadily decreased over the course of the pandemic (see Figure 1). True Intraindividual Change models showed that (1) the higher parental stress and child problem behavior at T1, the higher the decrease in child problem behavior from T1 to T2 and (2) that the higher parental stress and negative relationship quality at T3, the higher the subsequent decrease in child emotional well-being from T3 to T4. Parental stress emerged as risk factor amplifying the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic while low negativity in the parent-child relationship quality constituted a resilience factor for child psychological well-being buffering against negative effects of the pandemic (see Figure 2). The present study offers crucial insights furthering our understanding of child psychological well-being trajectories and has major implications for policies aiming to further child health and family well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Authors

• Samuel Essler, Ludwig-Maximilans-Universität München
  Presenting Author

• Natalie Christner, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

• Markus Paulus, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München