As COVID-19 dramatically changes human social life, restrictive lockdown periods to slow the spread of the virus have been suggested to particularly affect the psychological well-being of children and their families. To capture lockdown-related effects on a large scale, the present study used an online questionnaire completed by parents of 3-10-year-olds during the most restrictive lockdown period in Germany thus far (N = 2,672). Parents reported their stress level, their child’s well-being, and their child’s problem behaviors among others. Results showed that most parents and children experienced lockdown-related stress. Concerning children, not being able to meet with friends and family members outside the household emerged as the primary challenge. Older children (7–10 years) evidenced more emotional symptoms as well as less conduct problems and hyperactivity than younger children (3–6 years). Children’s own and their parents’ stress level, the degree to which children missed other children, and children’s age all showed to be negatively related to children’s general life satisfaction. Single parenthood and being an only child were associated with higher levels of child problems. Taken together, these findings shed light on the psychological well-being of children and their families during governmental lockdown measures, as well as on relations between children’s coping and demographic background. They have implications for possible avenues for interventions, inter alia by encouraging policies that facilitate the maintenance of social relationships and focus particularly on children from single parent families, on only children as well as on families in challenging housing situations.

As COVID-19 sweeps across the globe, scientists have identified children and families as possibly particularily vulnerable populations. The present study employed a developmental framework with two measurement points (the first at the peak of the lockdown restrictions (N = 2,921), the second after restrictions had been majorly loosened (N = 890)) to provide unique insights into the relations between parental strain, child well-being, and child problem behavior. Cross-lagged panel analyses revealed longitudinal effects of child well-being and problem behavior at T1 on parental strain at T2 with parent–child relationship quality as a moderator. True intraindividual change models showed that decreases in parental strain between measurement points predicted increases in child well-being and decreases in child problem behavior. Thus, the present research points to parental stress coping and child emotional adjustment as promising avenues for professionals and policy makers in their efforts to ensure child and family well-being throughout the pandemic.

The moral self-concept reflects the view of oneself in terms of moral behavior and has been proposed to predict actual behavior. Theories also suggest emotions and emotion knowledge to predict prosocial behavior, but the interplay between the moral self-concept and emotions is largely unknown. This interplay is especially important to study in middle childhood, a relevant period for the ontogeny of the moral self-concept and when emotions regarding prosocial behavior are suggested to change. The current study explored the nature of the relation between the moral self-concept, prosocial behavior, and consequential emotions (Experiment 1) or anticipated emotions (Experiment 2) regarding prosocial behavior in 5-to 9-year-olds (together N=169). Moreover, we investigated whether emotions mediate the relation between the moral self-concept and prosocial behavior. Overall, the moral self-concept was positively related to prosocial behavior. In addition, emotional consequences as well as anticipated emotions explained age differences in sharing behavior. Moreover, the results hint to an indirect effect of the moral self-concept on sharing behavior through the anticipation of negative feelings when not-sharing. Interestingly, children who first reflected about the affective consequences of prosocial behavior seemed to share more. In line with theories, the results demonstrate that both the moral self-concept and emotions are relevant motivators of prosocial behavior in middle childhood.

Identifying the underlying psychological and social factors of social distancing is crucial to foster preventive behavior during a pandemic effectively. We investigated the relative contribution of self-focused factors (fear of infection, fear of punishment) and other-focused factors (moral judgment, moral identity, empathy for unspecific others, empathy for loved ones) in an online study in Germany ( N = 246) while COVID-19 was climaxing. Importantly, other-oriented factors were related to social distancing behavior beyond self-oriented factors. Moral judgment and empathy for loved ones remained the dominant factors while controlling for all aspects. These findings underline the relevance of interpersonal considerations when engaging in preventive behavior.

Recent theories have highlighted the relevance of the moral self-concept (MSC) for prosocial behavior. Its early development and internal structure is still unknown, though. With two studies, we aimed to investigate the structure of the MSC in early childhood. Furthermore, we explored prosocial behavioral correlates (helping, sharing, comforting). In a first study, we explored four to six-year-olds (N = 127). We assessed explicit (puppet-interview) and implicit (IAT) measures of the MSC and observed child behavior. Our results show that MSC was independent from other self-concept domains. The three prosocial dimensions (helping, sharing and comforting) appear to be represented within the MSC separately. While the IAT yielded no significant relations with behaviors, the explicit MSC was meaningfully related to prosocial behavior. The second study (N = 314) underscores the results of the first, by replicating the factor structure of the MSC in confirmatory factor analysis. In conclusion, the studies underscore the MSC's different dimensions and their relations to prosocial behaviors in preschool children.