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. 2023 Sep 13;49(1):118.
doi: 10.1186/s13052-023-01521-9.

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

Marco Giustini  1 , Ilaria Luzi  2 , Angela Spinelli  3 , Silvia Andreozzi  2 , Mauro Bucciarelli  2 , Marta Buoncristiano  4 , Paola Nardone  2 , Silvia Ciardullo  2 ; EPaS-ISS Group
Collaborators, Affiliations

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

Marco Giustini et al. Ital J Pediatr. .

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.

Keywords: COVID-19; Children; Primary school; Stay at home orders; Well-being.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Distributions of the Well-Being Score (pre-COVID-19 period vs. COVID-19 period)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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