Details

Autor(en) / Beteiligte

• Giustini, Marco
• Luzi, Ilaria
• Spinelli, Angela
• Andreozzi, Silvia
• Bucciarelli, Mauro
• Buoncristiano, Marta
• Nardone, Paola
• Ciardullo, Silvia

Titel

Exploring changes in children’s well-being due to COVID-19 restrictions: the Italian EpaS-ISS study

Ist Teil von

• Italian journal of pediatrics, 2023-09, Vol.49 (1), p.1-118, Article 118

Ort / Verlag

Pisa: BioMed Central

Erscheinungsjahr

2023

Quelle

EZB Electronic Journals Library

Beschreibungen/Notizen

• Abstract Background While existing research has explored changes in health behaviours among adults and adolescents due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the impact of quarantine on young children’s well-being is still less clear. Moreover, most of the published studies were carried out on small and non-representative samples. The aim of the EpaS-ISS study was to describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the habits and behaviours of a representative sample of school children aged mainly 8–9 years and their families living in Italy, exploring the changes in children’s well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the immediately preceding time period. Methods Data were collected using a web questionnaire. The target population was parents of children attending third-grade primary schools and living in Italy. A cluster sample design was adopted. A Well-Being Score (WBS) was calculated by summing the scores from 10 items concerning the children’s well-being. Associations between WBS and socio-demographic variables and other variables were analysed. Results A total of 4863 families participated. The children’s WBS decreased during COVID-19 (median value from 31 to 25; p  = 0.000). The most statistically significant variables related to a worsening children’s WBS were: time of school closure, female gender, living in a house with only a small and unliveable outdoor area, high parents’ educational level and worsening financial situation. Conclusions According to parents ' perception, changes in daily routine during COVID-19 negatively affected children’s well-being. This study has identified some personal and contextual variables associated with the worsening of children’s WBS, which should be considered in case of similar events.