Selective Mutism Symptoms Predict Frequency of Remote Interactions and Speech during the COVID-19 Pandemic

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: PS 12 Topic - Technology, Media & Child Development

Abstract

Purpose/Background: Selective mutism (SM) is an anxiety disorder characterized by a failure to speak in specific social situations (APA, 2013). Researchers have suggested that using digital games in therapy may increase frequency of speech in children with SM through the process of reciprocal inhibition (Bunnell et al., 2015). In other words, during a reinforcing activity like gaming, children with SM may experience decreases in anxiety and, in turn, increases in speech. Small case studies have shown that therapies that include a digital component (e.g., video self-modeling, mobile apps) may be useful in treatment of children with SM (Bork & Bennett, 2020; Bunnell et al., 2018). The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increase in screen time in children (Xiang et al., 2020). It is crucial to examine how children with psychopathology manage this change. While some children may experience increases in anxiety as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects (Racine et al., 2020), children with SM may benefit from more remote communication. Alternatively, their anxiety may still prevent them from engaging with others, despite remote formats. Currently, the extant literature on these topics is limited. Therefore, this study utilized longitudinal data to investigate anxiety and speech levels in children with SM during their switch to more remote communication as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: The children were school-aged (M = 7.4; SD = 2.4) and the majority were female (67%) and white (82%). Parents completed online questionnaires in late 2019 and early 2020 before the height of the COVID-19 pandemic (T1) and in the summer of 2020 after the height (T2). At both timepoints, parents completed the Selective Mutism Questionnaire (Bergman, 2013) and Screen for Childhood Anxiety-Related Disorders (Birmaher et al., 1999). At T2, parents also completed the COVID-19 Social Impact Questionnaire (Boneff et al., 2020), which measured frequency of remote interactions (e.g., video calls, text messages/emails, social media) and speech (with teachers, peers/classmates, and close friends) during remote interactions.
Results: Paired-samples t-tests showed that SM and overall anxiety symptoms did not significantly differ between T1 and T2. Regression analyses showed that fewer SM symptoms at T1 significantly predicted higher frequency of remote interactions at T2 (β = .255, SE = .099, p < .05). Fewer SM symptoms at T1 also significantly predicted higher frequency of speech with teachers (β = .051, SE = .008, p < .001), peers and classmates (β = .054, SE = .008, p < .001), and close friends (β = .054, SE = .010, p < .001).
Conclusion: This study suggests that despite the potential negative psychological effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, children with SM did not experience an increase in symptoms from before to during the pandemic. However, the switch to more remote communication resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic did not seem particularly harmful or helpful for children with SM. It may still be that digital therapies could be helpful; however, this study investigated digital communication in general, not therapy specifically. Future research should further examine how children with SM interact with technology, especially in clinical settings.

Authors

• Aidan Schmitt, Eastern Michigan University
  Presenting Author

• Kira Boneff, Eastern Michigan University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Patricia C Lasutschinkow, Eastern Michigan University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Kylie A Quinn, Eastern Michigan University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Carol Freedman-Doan, Eastern Michigan University
  Non-Presenting Author