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The COVID-19 pandemic led to numerous restrictions in daily life that had a significant impact on the well-being and mental health of the population. Among others, children and adolescents were particularly affected, being a vulnerable group at risk. The aim of this study was to assess the emotional situation of children and adolescents during different phases of the pandemic and to identify modifying factors. Data from the serial cross-sectional COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring (COSMO) survey in Germany were used for this study. The survey waves 12 (19th/20th May 2020) and 21 (15th/16th September 2020) were investigated as examples of two different pandemic phases. The psychosocial and emotional situation and well-being of children were measured with the emotional subscale of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) assessed by parents. Descriptive analyses and logistic regressions were calculated. In total, a third of the participating parents in wave 12 and in wave 21 reported having children and adolescents with emotional symptoms. Especially children with younger parents seemed to be more affected by emotional symptoms. Sociodemographic aspects, such as household language, showed a significant association with reported emotional symptoms in children (Wave 12: OR = 2.22; 95% CI: 1.20–4.09). Reported prevalences of emotional symptoms in children did not differ between the pandemic phases. In conclusion, the pandemic had negative influences on the emotional symptoms of children and adolescents in COVID-19 pandemic waves in 2020, indicating a forecasted reoccurrence and need for preventive measures for upcoming waves and other pandemics in the future.

The aim of this study is to evaluate factors associated with the subjective well-being (SWB) and suspected depression measured with WHO-5 among German adults during different phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. Survey data were analyzed from the COVID-19 Snapshot Monitoring (COSMO) study, which collected data from 972, 1013, and 973 participants in time point 1 (19–20 May 2020), time point 2 (15–16 September 2020), and time point 3 (21–22 December 2020), respectively. Descriptive analyses and logistic regression analyses to identify the factors associated with suspected depression (WHO-5 ≤ 50) were conducted. Data showed that the mean WHO-5 scores in three time points were 56.17, 57.27, and 53.93, respectively. The risk of suspected depression was increased by about 1.5 times for females, 2.5–3 times among 18–24 year-olds compared to ages above 65 years, 1.5 times for singles, 2 times for those with chronic illnesses, and 2–3 times for people living in poverty. The main study findings show that German adult SWB is lower than pre-pandemic reference values. Special focus should be placed on vulnerable groups, such as females, younger persons, and people living in poverty who are most prone to a reduction in SWB and therefore suspected depression.

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Eltern stehen während der COVID-19-Pandemie vor einer Vielzahl persönlicher Herausforderungen, während sie gleichzeitig mit schulbezogenen Maßnahmen zur Pandemieeindämmung konfrontiert werden. Zielsetzung Dieser Beitrag fokussiert auf die Belastung von Eltern mit Kindern im Schulalter über verschiedene Phasen der COVID-19-Pandemie in Deutschland und identifiziert besonders vulnerable Subgruppen. Methoden Die COSMO-Studie ist eine repetitive Querschnittsstudie zur Erfassung der psychosozialen Lage der Bevölkerung in Deutschland während der Pandemie, mit einer Stichprobengröße von ca. n = 1000 Befragten pro Erhebungswelle. COSMO-Daten zur allgemeinen und elternspezifischen Belastung wurden von März 2020 bis Januar 2021 quantitativ analysiert. Ergebnisse Während der ersten COVID-19-Welle waren Eltern mit Kindern im Schulalter – verglichen mit der allgemeinen Studienpopulation – signifikant stärker belastet. Die Belastung nahm jedoch von März/April bis Juni 2020 deutlich ab. Während der zweiten COVID-19-Welle im Januar 2021 war die Belastung über alle Gruppen hinweg homogen hoch. Folgende Faktoren waren mit einer höheren Belastung assoziiert: Alleinerziehendenstatus, niedriges Haushaltseinkommen, eine chronische Erkrankung, eine COVID-19-Infektion sowie ein Migrationshintergrund; wobei diese Faktoren nicht über alle Erhebungswellen hinweg signifikant waren. Mütter gaben an, stärker von elternspezifischen Belastungen betroffen zu sein als Väter. Schlussfolgerung Schulbasierte Maßnahmen zur Infektionskontrolle müssen sorgfältig gegen die Auswirkungen auf die elterliche Belastung mit nachfolgenden negativen Auswirkungen auf das Familiensystem abgewogen werden.

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