Children’s Well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic: Relationships with attitudes, family structure, and mothers’ Well-being

Abstract

COVID-19 triggered social restrictions worldwide including the shutdown of schools. Whereas research has documented the negative effects on parents' well-being, less is known about children's well-being during the pandemic. We investigated the well-being, emotions, and COVID-19-related attitudes of 87 Norwegian elementary children (42 boys, 45 girls; M age = 9.66 years, SD = 1.77) and their mothers (M age = 39.69 years; SD = 5.79) in June 2020. Children reported reduced well-being relative to European norms. In line with research on child well-being before the pandemic, living in a one-parent home was associated with lower child well-being and more negative emotions during the pandemic, and mother's well-being was related to child well-being. Concerning attitudes towards COVID-19-related restrictions, we found a positive relationship between child age and attitudes and between children's attitudes and well-being. Implications for protecting children from negative effects of the ongoing and future pandemics are discussed.

The Impact of COVID-19-Induced Changes at Schools on Elementary Students' School Engagement

“…The present study makes an important contribution not only to existing literature on the antecedents and consequences of children's school engagement and well-being under normal circumstances (Fredricks et al, 2004;Upadyaya and Salmela-Aro, 2013), but also to the emerging literature that focuses on the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and parents (Hoffman and Miller, 2020;Spinelli et al, 2020;Martiny et al, 2021). We extend previous work on the effects of lockdowns and school closures on children by examining features of a previously unexplored context: classrooms altered by COVID-related restrictions.…”

“…A study from Italy showed that parents' stress during the crisis had a negative impact on children's behavioral and emotional problems (Spinelli et al, 2020). Even in Norway, which experienced a relatively low number of cases and deaths in the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2020, children reported significant costs in well-being when schools were closed during the lockdown (Martiny et al, 2021). Researchers have argued that school closures played a significant role in this decrease in well-being (Hoffman and Miller, 2020), but the impact of the structural changes made to schools to align with COVID-19 restrictions upon reopening have not yet been examined.…”

“…The inclusion criterion for the children sample was being an elementary school child in Norway whose parents had answered the parent questionnaire. This study was part of a larger research project investigating parents' and children's well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic (Martiny et al, 2021;Thorsteinsen et al, 2021).…”

“…Therefore, school engagement is important to assess given the extensive changes to the school environment following the COVID-19 virus outbreak. Although emerging research shows that children's well-being suffered during the lockdown of society due to the pandemic (e.g., Hoffman and Miller, 2020;Spinelli et al, 2020;Xie et al, 2020;Martiny et al, 2021), little is known about how structural changes made to schools at reopening affected children's wellbeing. The present study, thus, makes an important contribution to our knowledge of the negative consequences of the pandemic on children.…”

Does the Stereotypicality of Mothers’ Occupation Influence Children’s Communal Occupational Aspirations and Communal Orientation?

“…In Study 2, we recruited elementary school children who were between 6 and 13 years old. The second study was part of a project that investigated the effects of COVID-19 on parents' and children's well-being (Martiny et al, 2021;Thorsteinsen et al, 2021) and also investigated the development of gender roles, gender stereotypes, and occupational aspirations in elementary school children.…”