Chichinina Elena A, Gavrilova Margarita N
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia.
Psychol Russ. 2022 Jun 30;15(2):124-136. doi: 10.11621/pir.2022.0209. eCollection 2022.
During the lockdown for COVID-19, children were limited in a number of activities which are essential for the development of executive functions (play, social interaction, and organized sport). Earlier studies found an increase in executive function issues in children during the pandemic, based on caregivers' reports.
The present study was a pioneer in exploring the dynamics of children's executive function development during the lockdown. Our purpose was to explore the effect of the lockdown on the growth of executive functions in children over a one-year period, as compared to their peers before the pandemic.
The sample consisted of two cohorts of children. All the children had been attending the same kindergartens but in different periods of time. The executive functions of both groups were assessed twice, with a year's break in-between (the first group was assessed before the pandemic; the second, during the pandemic). These groups were comparable in gender composition, age, and family's place of residence.
The results have confirmed concerns about the slower growth of executive functioning in children during the lockdown versus their peers before the pandemic, especially for cognitive flexibility and working memory. Inhibition was not significantly affected by the lockdown. Moderation analysis showed that the lockdown impacted girls differently than boys in terms of working memory. The negative effect of social restrictions on working memory was significantly higher in females.
Our findings illuminate the negative effects the pandemic-related social restrictions had on the growth of children's cognitive flexibility and working memory. For working memory, the effect of social isolation varied depending on the child's gender.
在新冠疫情封锁期间，儿童参与对执行功能发展至关重要的多项活动（玩耍、社交互动和有组织的体育活动）受到限制。早期研究基于照料者的报告发现，疫情期间儿童执行功能问题有所增加。
本研究是探索封锁期间儿童执行功能发展动态的先驱。我们的目的是探讨与疫情前的同龄人相比，封锁对儿童执行功能在一年时间内发展的影响。
样本由两组儿童组成。所有儿童都曾就读于同一幼儿园，但在不同时间段。两组儿童的执行功能都进行了两次评估，中间间隔一年（第一组在疫情前评估；第二组在疫情期间评估）。这两组在性别构成、年龄和家庭居住地方面具有可比性。
结果证实了人们的担忧，即与疫情前的同龄人相比，封锁期间儿童执行功能的发展较慢，尤其是在认知灵活性和工作记忆方面。抑制功能未受到封锁的显著影响。调节分析表明，在工作记忆方面，封锁对女孩和男孩的影响不同。社会限制对女性工作记忆的负面影响显著更高。
我们的研究结果揭示了与疫情相关的社会限制对儿童认知灵活性和工作记忆发展的负面影响。对于工作记忆，社会隔离的影响因儿童性别而异。
