Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD.
Department of Mental Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD.
J Dev Behav Pediatr. 2022 May 1;43(4):e263-e268. doi: 10.1097/DBP.0000000000001027. Epub 2021 Oct 11.
The goal of this study was to investigate changes in children's self-regulatory behavior before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Participants were parents of children aged 4 to 13 years (n = 45, mean 7.5, SD: 2.6) who participated in the Baltimore Generations Study before the pandemic. They reported on their child's self-regulation (SR) using the Parent Observation of Child Adaptation. During the pandemic, they were recontacted to report on child SR, disruptions to family life (Coronavirus Impact Scale), and parenting stress (Parenting Stress Index). Prepandemic to pandemic changes in SR were compared with repeated measures analysis of variance.
There were significant decreases in child SR (poorer concentration, attention, task engagement and persistence, and greater impulsivity) prepandemic to pandemic. During the pandemic, parenting stress was correlated with lower child SR (r range = -0.52 to -0.34, p < 0.05). Pandemic-related family disruptions were associated with changes in children's impulsivity (F [1, 42] = 5.28, p = 0.03); children with 4 or more disruptions (67%) showed less ability to wait their turn during the pandemic compared with prepandemic (M [SD] = 3.34 [0.93] vs. 4.41 [1.21], t [28] = 3.93, p < 0.001). There was no change in SR for children with fewer than 4 disruptions.
Results highlight modest pandemic-associated decreases in child attention, task persistence, and task engagement alongside increases in impulsivity. We did not find evidence of broad or severe impacts; however, children whose families have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic may need focused support in school and at home to avoid widening prepandemic health and educational disparities.
本研究旨在调查 COVID-19 大流行前后儿童自我调节行为的变化。
参与者为大流行前参加巴尔的摩世代研究的 4 至 13 岁儿童（n=45，平均年龄 7.5，标准差：2.6）的父母。他们使用父母观察儿童适应量表报告其子女的自我调节（SR）。在大流行期间，他们被重新联系以报告儿童 SR、家庭生活中断（冠状病毒影响量表）和育儿压力（父母压力指数）。使用重复测量方差分析比较大流行前后 SR 的变化。
大流行前到大流行期间，儿童 SR 显著下降（注意力、任务参与和坚持度更差，冲动性更高）。在大流行期间，育儿压力与较低的儿童 SR 相关（r 范围为-0.52 至-0.34，p<0.05）。与大流行相关的家庭中断与儿童冲动性变化相关（F[1,42]=5.28，p=0.03）；与大流行前相比，有 4 次或更多中断的儿童（67%）在大流行期间等待轮到自己的能力降低（M[SD]=3.34[0.93] vs. 4.41[1.21]，t[28]=3.93，p<0.001）。中断次数少于 4 次的儿童 SR 没有变化。
结果强调了与大流行相关的儿童注意力、任务坚持和任务参与适度下降，同时冲动性增加。我们没有发现广泛或严重影响的证据；然而，那些家庭受到大流行不成比例影响的儿童可能需要在学校和家中得到有针对性的支持，以避免扩大大流行前的健康和教育差距。
