The impact of COVID-19 on anxiety and wellbeing for families of individuals with Special Education Needs and Disabilities in the UK

Sideropoulos, Vassilis; Dukes, Daniel; Hanley, Mary; Palikara, Olympia; Rhodes, Sinéad; Riby, Deborah M.; Samson, AC; Herwegen, Jo Van

doi:10.31234/osf.io/gyhd9

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 40 publications

(50 reference statements)

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“…Our survey, launched in the first months of the pandemic, allowed us to study ER strategy use and the link to anxiety in neurodevelopmental disorders, namely, in individuals with WS, autistic people with and without ID, and individuals with ID-NOS. Individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders have been disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with increased levels of anxiety and other mental health outcomes ( 46 , 47 , 65 , 66 ). While our current analysis does not allow a comparison with typically developing individuals, we observed that autistic people (with and without ID) had elevated anxiety levels compared to individuals with ID-NOS, in line with previous studies reporting prevalence rates of 42–79% in autistic people ( 67 ) while prevalence rates seem lower in individuals with ID [3–22%, ( 68 )].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies suggested that maladaptive strategy use such as catastrophizing, rumination, or excessive health-related information seeking was correlated with increased perceived distress, negative emotions, depression, and anxiety, while adaptive strategies (including positive refocusing and acceptance) have acted as a buffer to alleviate emotional distress and negative emotions during COVID-19 in the general population (38)(39)(40)(41)(42)(43)(44). It has even been suggested that individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders and their families have been disproportionally impacted (45)(46)(47). For example, in a study including individuals with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, poorer pre-COVID-19 ER abilities were linked to increased mental health symptoms (48).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An exploratory study on emotion regulation strategy use in individuals with Williams syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability

Samson

Sokhn

Herwegen³

et al. 2022

Front. Psychiatry

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BackgroundIndividuals with neurodevelopmental disorders often have atypical emotion profiles, but little is known about how they regulate their emotions. While several studies have examined emotion regulation strategy use in autism spectrum disorder (ASD), only a few have included individuals with intellectual disability (ID) or focused on specific syndromes such as Williams syndrome (WS).MethodsA parent-reported survey launched during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic allowed to exploratorily study emotion regulation strategy use and its link to anxiety in individuals with ASD with (N=785) and without ID (N=596), WS (N=261), and Intellectual Disability not otherwise specified (N=649).ResultsUsing multilevel analyses, besides revealing specific group differences in emotion regulation strategy use, a variety of strategies (e.g., rumination, avoiding information, repetitive behaviors) were found to be linked to elevated levels of anxiety, while focusing on the positive was linked to lower anxiety levels in all groups. Moreover, only autistic people without ID used humor more frequently while experiencing lower anxiety levels.ConclusionThis study sheds light on an underexplored area of emotion regulation strategy use in different neurodevelopmental disorders. It also paves the way to further examine emotion regulation in more rigorous ways to better understand emotion regulation in different neurodevelopmental disorders as well as the impact on outcome measures such as anxiety. This exploratory study may help to develop and validate adequate measures to study a broad array of ER strategies used by individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An exploratory study on emotion regulation strategy use in individuals with Williams syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability

Samson

Sokhn

Herwegen³

et al. 2022

Front. Psychiatry

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…An international network of collaborators translated and disseminated the questionnaire in 16 languages, eventually reaching more than 10,000 families in 78 countries around the world. The questionnaire (original English version available in Supplementary Materials) and database have been used for other papers that have been published (Su et al, 2021;Furar et al, 2022;Sideropoulos et al, 2022aSideropoulos et al, , 2022b. One parent of each family completed the anonymous survey which contained a total of 299 questions.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A selection from the entire list of concerns was made both to test our hypotheses as well as to investigate other potential operable, as opposed to abstract, environmental barriers encountered by these families over time. Therefore, all health-related concerns (e.g., about illness in general, about COVID-19, about the child's health) were excluded from these analyses because they were not operable environmental barriers that could reveal environmental facilitators capable of improving activity and participation in daily life (for an overview of health-related concerns in the UK, see Sideropoulos et al, 2022a). In addition, the concern about "financial and economic problems" was removed from the model for individuals with NDCs because their average age was only 12.…”

Section: Multilevel Analysis Proceduresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anxiety in families of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland

Poi

Dukes²,

Meuleman³

et al. 2023

Front. Educ.

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In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic generated a health, social, political, and economic crisis that dramatically reduced the institutional support for families of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions (NDCs). To understand how these families may have experienced and coped with the pandemic, we created an online questionnaire that reached more than 10,000 families in 78 countries. The current manuscript - framed within the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF-10) model - investigates the impact of specific health conditions and personal or environmental factors on the anxiety of families living in Switzerland during the early months of the pandemic. To assess how differences in anxiety over time were predicted by specific health conditions or personal and environmental factors, two separate multilevel analyses were conducted for parents and their children with NDCs (N = 256). First, results showed that only parents reported an increase in anxiety when the pandemic started. Second, concerns related to loss of institutional support and financial and economic problems were the most anxiety-provoking factors for parents, whereas parents reported that the most anxiety-provoking factor for children was their concern about becoming bored. Many parents may have struggled with economic problems and managed multiple extra roles and tasks in their daily lives because institutional support was no longer available. As reported by their parents, although individuals with NDCs did not show an increase in anxiety, they may have struggled with boredom. This result may represent the inability to engage in satisfactory activities in daily life associated with a partial unawareness of the pandemic and the respective protective measures. Further research should more thoroughly investigate the potential effects of the individual’s primary condition, presence and severity of intellectual disability and awareness of the pandemic on the anxiety of individuals with NDCs. Ultimately, we present a series of reflections and practical suggestions that could help guide policymakers in potential future periods of crisis, social estrangement, and distance learning.

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Accelerated HE digitalisation: Exploring staff and student experiences of the COVID-19 rapid online-learning transfer

et al. 2022

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In the UK, the first ‘lockdown’ of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated a rapid shift to online learning and digital technologies in Higher Education (HE). While the situation was unprecedented, extant literature on online learning suggested there would be challenges, opportunities, and benefits to this transition, and we sought to understand these via a case study of one UK HEI department at this time. To draw out in-depth and nuanced accounts of this (at time of investigation–unstudied) scenario, qualitative data were collected via semi-structured online interview or written reflection. To explore, identify and understand the experiences from both sides, and with a diverse sample, we purposively recruited both staff (n = 10) and students (n = 12), from various roles and backgrounds, including those with additional learning and/or mental health needs. The ‘bricolage’ data were analysed inductively, utilising a latent reflexive approach, and organised into a framework around five core themes: ‘methods and means of engagement’; ‘learning maintenance, destruction and construction’; ‘remote education and resource accessibility and literacy’; ‘support and communication’; and ‘life and learning: responses, adaptations and impacts’. Within these, a range of challenges, successes and, most importantly, future learning and innovation outcomes were identified by staff and students, particularly relevant to working with and supporting students with additional needs in the online learning forum. These discoveries informed a set of practical recommendations, provided here in Box 1, for (rapid implementation of) online learning (in times of stress).

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The impact of COVID-19 on anxiety and wellbeing for families of individuals with Special Education Needs and Disabilities in the UK

Cited by 5 publications

References 40 publications

An exploratory study on emotion regulation strategy use in individuals with Williams syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability

An exploratory study on emotion regulation strategy use in individuals with Williams syndrome, autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability

Anxiety in families of individuals with neurodevelopmental conditions in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in Switzerland

Accelerated HE digitalisation: Exploring staff and student experiences of the COVID-19 rapid online-learning transfer

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