Learning about germs in a global pandemic: Children’s knowledge and avoidance of contagious illness before and after COVID-19

Abstract

The present research investigates how a global pandemic may be affecting children's understanding of contagion. In Study 1, 130 parents (85.4% White, 6.9% Hispanic, 3.8% Asian, 3.8% Black) of children ages 3-9 described discussions surrounding contagion pre-and postpandemic. Content of these discussions focused on risks and preventative behaviors rather than causal mechanisms of contagion. In Study 2, US children tested during the pandemic (ages 4-7, N=60, 51.7% males) were compared to a sample tested before the pandemic (ages 4-5, N=30, 50% males) on tasks of contagion-related declarative knowledge and causal reasoning. Greater declarative knowledge and causal reasoning in the pandemic sample suggests the effectiveness of informal learning experiences in young children.

Children’s judgments of interventions against norm violations: COVID-19 as a naturalistic case study

“…However, the current study cannot address how children have become socialized to the novel norms. We speculate that children might have received numerous instructions and guidance from multiple sources in their everyday life such as their parents, teachers, peers, and media ( Leotti et al, 2021 ). Future research should examine the process in which children are introduced and socialized to novel norms.…”

“…Past research supports this possibility. For example, a recent study ( Leotti et al, 2021 ) found that 4- to 7-year-old US children tested after COVID-19 pandemic demonstrate greater understanding of a contagious illness such as the common cold than did children tested before the pandemic, suggesting that the pandemic familiarizes children with the concept of the transmission of a contagious illness and its underlying mechanism. Moreover, 5- to 12-year-olds in the US understand the causal relation between not wearing a mask and making another person sick ( Labotka & Gelman, 2022 ).…”

When do children avoid infection risks: Lessons for schools during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Children tested during the pandemic demonstrated greater explicit declarative knowledge and causal reasoning ability about contagion than did children tested immediately before the pandemic, especially in the domain of proximity (likely because of increased talk about social distancing). Further, explicit declarative knowledge about illness transmission and causal knowledge about the role of proximity predicted children's avoidance behavior (Leotti et al, 2021).…”

“…In fact, simply recommending that parents begin to have discussions with children about illness transmission at home might be useful. Recently researchers (Leotti et al, 2021) polled 143 families with young children after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and found that almost all parents (96%) were talking to their children about illness transmission. On top of that, the researchers compared preschool-aged children's knowledge about illness transmission and contamination avoidance in two samples-one tested during the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States, and one tested immediately prior.…”

“…The results of the study discussed above that examined illness knowledge before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic suggests that casual conversations about illness transmission at home might promote health-related behaviors in children (Leotti et al, 2021). However, it is important to note that although 59% of parents who were polled in this study reported that their children had a strong understanding of how to avoid illness (e.g., washing hands, avoiding contamination), only 5% of them believed their child would behave in ways that would keep them from exposure.…”