What predicts the alleviation of Covid-related future anxiety in schoolchildren 6 to 9 months into the pandemic?

Research output: Journal contributionsJournal articlesResearchpeer-review

Authors

Introduction: Although the first COVID-19-related lockdown in the Spring of 2020 has contributed to an increase in mental health problems in many children worldwide, less is known about the longer-term effects of the pandemic on their (future) anxiety. This article examines resilience factors against children’s Covid-relatedfut ure anxiety (CRFA). 

Methods: N = 140 children (48,6% female) in 3rd and 4th grade classrooms in Northern Germany were asked to self-report about their CRFA, their anxiety, and the social climate in their classrooms in September (T1) and December 2020 (T2). 

Results: Results indicate that 18.6% of the children experienced CRFA “often” in at least one item of the CRFA scale at T1. CRFA was more pronounced in girls and in children from immigrant families. Changes in children’s CRFA between T1 and T2 were predicted by changes in their anxiety and changes in classroom climate. Children in classrooms with increasing levels of peer support tended to have decreasing levels of CRFA, whereas their agemates’ CRFA in less supportive classrooms tended to increase over time. 

Discussion: These results suggest that peer and teacher social support may bolster children’s resilience against future anxiety in challenging times. Implications for teachers and schools are discussed.

Original languageEnglish
Article number1230301
JournalFrontiers in Psychology
Volume14
Number of pages8
ISSN1664-1078
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 20.09.2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This study and open access publication were supported by research funds of the Ministry of Science and Culture of the state of Lower Saxony in Germany.

Publisher Copyright:
Copyright © 2023 Voltmer and von Salisch.

    Research areas

  • children, classroom climate, Covid-19, future anxiety, resilience
  • Psychology

Recently viewed

Publications

  1. Diskurse über Bildung in der Sprache von Management-Wissenschaft
  2. Flexibilisierung, Prekarisierung und das Individuum
  3. Das Rauschen der Schwärme
  4. Alice: Metamorphosen einer weltliterarischen Figur
  5. Personality, career development, and occupational attainment
  6. The influence of laser shock peening on fatigue properties of AA2024-T3 alloy with a fastener hole
  7. Nachhaltigkeitsmanagement in der öffentlichen Verwaltung
  8. Umgang mit häuslicher Gewalt
  9. Notting Hill Gate 3
  10. Optimierung zwischen Zwang und Zustimmung
  11. Transcending land-sea dichotomies through strategic spatial planning
  12. Chemotaxonomy of the Xylariaceae and remarkable bioactive compounds from Xylariales and their associated asexual stages
  13. Manuela Leinhoß
  14. Chancen für Erneuerbare Energien
  15. »Groove is the essence of my music«.
  16. Im Rahmen des Bürgerlichen
  17. Liquidity - Networks - Deterritorialisation: Allan Sekula's Critique of Flow
  18. Die Präsidentschaftsvorwahlen der US-Demokraten 2008
  19. Zwischen Animismus und Animation – Krieg und (Virtual) Reality bei Harun Farocki
  20. Die andere Klima-Zukunft
  21. Kuba: Wettlauf um viele Welten auf einer Insel
  22. Entwicklung und Zukunft der Sexualität und Liebe
  23. Untersuchungen zur Struktur und Dynamik der Serrahner Buchenwälder
  24. Einleitung in den Schwerpunkt "Protokolle"
  25. Feeding ecology of the Andean fox in southern Ecuador
  26. Entrepreneurship
  27. Editorial
  28. Going Green with Gamified Learning: Advancing Sustainability through Interactive Learning
  29. Integration im Bürgerbewusstsein von SchülerInnen
  30. Woeckener, Bernd W., Endogene Konjunktur- und Wachstumszyklen. Eine keynesianisch-klassische Synthese. Tübingen (J. C. B. Mohr) 1990
  31. Theater, Performance und technische Interaktion
  32. Transdisziplinarität praktizieren
  33. How important is culture to understand political protest?
  34. A multi-scaled process study of dissimilar friction stir welding of Eurofer RAFM steel to PM2000 ODS alloy
  35. Bastian Lange, Hans-Joachim Bürkner & Elke Schüßler