The change in children's subjective relational social cohesion with family and friends during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multinational analysis

Abstract

As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, social-distancing measures have been implemented worldwide, including school closures. Previous studies indicated that children's relational social cohesion with family (RSC-Fa) and friends (RSC-Fr) may have decreased during the pandemic, but some children described that positive experiences were gained from the confinement measures of social distancing. Mostly, these studies are qualitative or capture a single country and have an exploratory character. Using data collected in 2021 of more than 20,000 children primarily aged 9–13 years as part of the International Children's Worlds COVID-19 Supplement Survey from 18 countries (Germany, Turkey, Bangladesh, Italy, Albania, Romania, Chile, Wales, Taiwan, Belgium, Algeria, Israel, Russia, South Korea, Indonesia, Estonia, Finland, and Spain), this study aimed to examine how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected children's RSC-Fa and RSC-Fr and explore the role of relational factors. RSC-Fa and RSC-Fr are measured through satisfaction in relationships with family members and friends before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. We employed descriptive statistics, cluster analysis, and multinomial logistic regression analysis. Our analyses confirmed the decrease in RSC-Fa and RSC-Fr, with a noticeably bigger decrease in RSC-Fr. Five profiles of change in RSC emerged: (1) gainers in both RSC; (2) gainers in RSC-Fa and decliners in RSC-Fr; (3) no change in either RSC; (4) decliners in RSC-Fa and gainers in RSC-Fr; and (5) decliners in both RSC. The quantity and quality of children's relationships differ by their profiles of change in RSC. For example, it was significantly more likely that “decliners in both RSC” had to be at home all day because of COVID-19 than “gainers in both RSC” or “no changers.” Mainly, the quantity of relationship factors, and among different quality factors, only autonomy perceptions, help to explain the children belonging to the “gainers in both RSC” profile compared to the “no changers.” Meanwhile, almost all the quantity and quality of relationships factors help to explain children's belonging to the “decliners in both RSC” profile compared to “no changers.” In conclusion, our study confirmed the importance of keeping schools open to protect the RSC of children.

Social Cohesion and Covid-19: an integrative review

“…Sixteen of the pieces of work involved an analysis of two or more nations [39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54] ; twelve were based in the United Kingdom 27,[55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65] ; seven in the United States of America [66][67][68][69][70][71][72] ; four each in Germany [73][74][75][76] , Australia [77][78][79][80] and Aotearoa-NZ [81][82][83][84] ; two each in Iran 85,86 and South Africa 87,…”

“…Those accounts constructing social cohesion broadly as a product of active interpersonal relationships included those focusing on the provision of social support 41,55,65,68,71,77,83,90,94 , interpersonal reciprocity 69,100 , the sharing of information across social networks 55,77,100 , the number of social connections or interactions maintained by an individual 48, 56, 58, 61-63, 65, 72, 74, 89, 93 , the quality of social connections available to an individual 41,45,48,58,62,63,71,78,85,89,90,92,101 and the relative operation of close relationships such as those between family members and less involved relationships such as those between friends and acquaintances 48,[61][62][63]70 . Those operating in this general area frequently referred to a close relationship between social capital and social cohesion 47,55,63,69,70,75,82,90,98,100 , some using these terms interchangeably 93,…”

“…National populations were often divided along demographic axes in order to analyse specific groups: occupational 62 , age 41,83 , gender 73 , or a combination of these axes of difference 81 . Some -often the qualitative work and that coming from researchers in psychological fields -focused on individuals 48,55,63,68,74,79,103 . Finally, a number of works used some combination of the above units of analyses: individuals and social groups 87,90,102 ; neighbourhood and social groups 76 ; communities of sameness and social groups 54 ; neighbourhoods and nations 80 ; neighbourhoods, regions and nations 27,75 ; individuals, neighbourhoods, regions and nations 59 ; and individuals, social groups, communities of sameness and regions 60 .…”

“…A significant thread in the literature, involving those constructions of social cohesion where interpersonal relationships are at the centre, is analysis of how changes in relationships brought about by the pandemic have affected social cohesion. Such accounts include the suggestions that frequency of contact and quality of relationships with people from outside the family circle have diminished 48,58,60,61,75,85 ; and that bonding with those in one's close environment has strengthened 48, 59-61, 63, 83 . Other interesting observations on the changing nature of interpersonal relationships includes their becoming politically polarised and/or depolarised over time 63,98 ; and the manners in which the requirements of remaining physically distant can function in cultures of communal sociality 40,88 .…”

“…More work is needed to understand the operation of societies at the national level -the ongoing work conducted by Abrams and colleagues [59][60][61][62] in the UK offer a good example of the value of such scholarship. There is also room for more analysis at the small-group level: only two works in the literature reviewed here attended to this 48,65 . The operation of information and communication technology in respect of social cohesion also represents a promising avenue for future research offered by the work reviewed.…”