ArticlePsychology international2024
Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Early Childhood Development and Mental Health: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Comparative Studies.
Article in Psychology international, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
12 citing papers in PubMed.
- Exclusion From Childcare Centre Attendance in Toddler and Preschool Patients in a Psychiatric Day Clinic: Patterns From Comparison of a 2018/2019 and a 2023/2024 Cohort.Child: care, health and development · 2026Article
- Health-related quality of life and physical activity in children with Multiple Osteochondromas.Journal of bone oncology · 2026Article
- Disrupted beginnings: Neurodevelopmental outcomes of COVID-19 lockdowns in early childhood (Review).Experimental and therapeutic medicine · 2026Review
- How Were Functional Somatic Symptoms in Children Influenced by the COVID-19 Pandemic? A Retrospective Study of Children Admitted to a Tertiary Pediatric Emergency Hospital in Bucharest, Romania.Life (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Maternal internalizing symptoms as a mechanism linking pre- and postnatal COVID-19 pandemic exposure with preschool-aged children's neurodevelopment.Archives of women's mental health · 2026Article
- From childhood malnutrition to adult mental illness: COVID-19 and the hidden legacy of malnutrition.BMJ global health · 2026Article
- Prevalence and Associated Factors of Developmental Delays Across Gross Motor, Fine Motor, Language and Social Domains in Malaysian Children Aged 6-59 Months.Child: care, health and development · 2026Article
- Pandemic Babies: Developmental Outcomes in Preschool-Aged Children Born During the COVID-19 Era.Behavioral sciences (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Children's Coping in Disasters: Developments, Challenges, and Future Directions.Current psychiatry reports · 2025Review
- Missed opportunities: The unknown impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on early childhood development in the WHO European region.Public health in practice (Oxford, England) · 2025Review
- Participatory Arts as Emergency Responses for Strengthening Community Resilience and Psychosocial Support: A Retrospective Phenomenological Inquiry.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- School-Based Participatory Arts for Psychosocial Adjustment and Well-Being in Health Emergencies: An Embedded Mixed-Methods Study.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
From 2020 to 2023, the coronavirus-19 (COVID-19) pandemic exposed children to a variety of adverse childhood events, including parental loss, abuse, and disruption in services, and it exacerbated societal inequities. Studies evaluating the mental health of older children and adolescents reported increases in depression and anxiety symptoms, but no reviews have addressed the effects of the pandemic on preschool children. This systematic review and meta-analysis is the first to explore these effects. The goal was to analyze and synthesize longitudinal cohort studies to determine impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the development and mental health of young children. Searches of multiple databases were performed for studies published between 2018 and 2023 with pre- and post-pandemic evaluations of the mental health or development of preschool children (aged 0-6 years) using objective measures and according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Cohen's d effect sizes were calculated for each study that utilized the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ), or the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). Random-effects mixed models combined the estimates of effect sizes to calculate the overall mean effect size. The meta-analyses included 22,348 children from 16 countries. The analyses showed small increases in emotional symptoms and conduct problems, as well as increases in emotional reactivity, anxiety/depression, withdrawal symptoms, attention problems, and aggressive behaviors. A decrease in fine motor and personal-social skills was noted. Studies not included in these meta-analyses also showed negative effects on language and executive function. This systematic review characterizes the detrimental effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and development of preschool children across the world. Our results suggest the vulnerability of early childhood to pandemic-related disruptions, although the heterogeneity in study design and child characteristics may limit some of these conclusions.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.