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Changes in Emotional-Behavioral Functioning Among Pre-school Children Following the Initial Stage Danish COVID-19

Ina Olmer Specht1, Jeanett Friis Rohde1, Ann-Kristine Nielsen1

  • 1The Parker Institute, Research Unit for Dietary Studies, Bispebjerg og Frederiksberg Hospital, Frederiksberg, Denmark.

Frontiers in Psychology
|June 17, 2021
PubMed

Insights

The COVID-19 lockdown negatively impacted preschool children's emotional-behavioral functioning, with decreased prosocial behavior observed. Attending leisure activities before lockdown predicted worse outcomes, highlighting the need for mental wellbeing awareness during crises.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Public Health
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated lockdowns and home confinement, raising concerns about unintended negative consequences on child behavior.
  • Understanding changes in emotional-behavioral functioning during such crises is crucial for effective interventions in current and future health emergencies.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To determine if the Danish COVID-19 lockdown affected emotional-behavioral functioning in preschool children.
  • To examine if baseline family and social characteristics predicted changes in child behavior during lockdown.

Main Methods:

  • A sub-study of the ODIN-study involving 40 preschool-aged children.
  • Parents completed the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) before and three weeks into lockdown.
  • Analysis of SDQ-Total Difficulties (SDQ-TD) and Prosocial Behavioral (PSB) scores, and prediction of changes using baseline characteristics.

Main Results:

  • A significant increase in SDQ-Total Difficulties scores (from 6.0 to 7.9) and a significant decrease in Prosocial Behavioral scores (from 8.5 to 7.9) were observed.
  • Attending pre-lockdown leisure activities predicted a worsening of children's SDQ-TD scores (mean difference 3.16).
  • A modest decrease in overall child emotional-behavioral functioning during lockdown was indicated.

Conclusions:

  • The COVID-19 lockdown was associated with a decline in preschool children's emotional-behavioral functioning.
  • Parental stress may have contributed to these negative outcomes.
  • Increased awareness of child mental wellbeing during lockdown situations is necessary, despite limitations in generalizability due to sample size.

Keywords:
SDQchild developmentchild mental wellbeingcoronaviruslockdown

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