Relations between young children’s mode of school attendance and their mental health and wellbeing

• In Event: Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Topic - Solicited Content: COVID-19 Related

Abstract

Temporary school closures were implemented by governments in over 150 countries by March 31, 2020, to contain the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic (UNESCO, 2020). In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the nationwide closure of schools became effective on March 8, 2020. Initially, it was planned to last four weeks but schools remained closed until the end of the school year. The UAE Ministry of Education announced that schools reopen with the new school year on August 30, 2020. Yet, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic calls for careful consideration about how to protect the health, safety, and wellbeing of children, teachers, school staff, and their families. In the UAE, parents of the approx. 1.1 million children registered for the new school year choose their child’s mode of school attendance during the fall semester, either face-to-face at school or through distance learning (Ministry of Education, 16-08-2020). It is unprecedented that parents decide about their child’s mode of school attendance.
To complicate the matter, very limited knowledge-base is currently available for parents’ decision-making because of the exceptional times of the COVID-19 pandemic. Yet, parents’ decision has consequences for both children’s academic development as well as their health and safety that are not known yet. To help inform decisions that promote a positive development during future health crises, a deeper understanding of the factors that play a role in parents’ decision and what the interplay is between children’s mode of attendance and their mental health and wellbeing will be important (Spinelli et al., 2020; Wang et al., 2020).
Addressing this gap, the main objective of the study is to explore how pandemic-related variables, structural aspects of the home and family environment, parents’ subjective experience of stress, parents’ mental and physical health, and parents’ perceived changes in their child’s behavior since the COVID-19 outbreak relate to their decision about their child’s mode of school attendance and how in turn the mode of school attendance is related to children’s mental health and wellbeing in a few months. The present investigation is guided by the family stress model (FSM) framework (Masarik & Conger, 2017) to understand how family stress during the COVID-19 pandemic influences parents’ decision about their child’s mode of school attendance and the interplay with children’s mental health and wellbeing. The study targets 200 families of 4-8 years-old children. Parents complete an online survey to assess pandemic-related variables, structural aspects of the home and family environment, parents’ subjective experience of stress, mental and physical health, and perceived changes in their child’s behavior since the COVID-19 outbreak. In addition, parents will be asked to indicate their decision about their child’s mode of school attendance. Children will participate in an online, video-recorded interview. Standardized tasks (Berkeley Puppet Interview; Story Completion task), adapted to the online environment, will be used to assess children’s psychological and relational problems. Data analyses will be completed by the time of the biennial meeting.

Group Authors

Early Childhood Authority Abu Dhabi, UAE, Survey Advisory Committee

Authors

• Antje von Suchodoletz, New York University Abu Dhabi
  Presenting Author

• Jocelyn Belanger, New York University Abu Dhabi
  Non-Presenting Author