More Behavioral Issues Reported in Children When School Is Virtual

The behavior of children forced to switch learning formats during the pandemic was worse when their learning was remote, according to surveys of their parents. Thefindings were published inJAMA Pediatrics.“The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted the education of more than 1 billion children worldwide, with many experiencing shifts between remote, hybrid, and in-person learning,” wrote Emily C. Hanno, Ph.D., of Harvard University and colleagues. To assess the impact of these changes on youth’s beh avior, the researchers asked 405 parents of children (average age 7.5 years) who were participating in the broader Early Learning Study at Harvard to complete four online surveys between January 4, 2021, and May 23, 2021.For each survey, parents were asked to indicate their child ’s current learning format (for example, in person, remote, or hybrid). They also were asked to report on their child’s behavioral health using the following three measures:General behavioral health: Parents were asked to rate their child ’s behavior in the past month on a five-point scale, ranging from “much worse than usual” to “much better than usual.”Emergence of maladaptive behaviors: Parents were asked to indicate if they had witnessed maladaptive behaviors, such as more aggression and/or tantrums, in the past month.Frequency of dysregulated behaviors: Parents were asked how often they had seen 11 dysregulated behaviors, such as difficulty switching activities or limited attention, in...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: AMA webinar behavioral issues children COVID-19 hybrid learning in-person learning JAMA Pediatrics No Surprise Act remote learning Source Type: research