A Year of Pandemic: Psychological Effects in Spanish Children from 3 to 11 Years of Age

BACKGROUND: After the lockdown, schools adopted measures to avoid infection, which changed pre-pandemic routines. We evaluated whether the new school conditions constituted a stress factor for children or contributed to their recovery after the impact of the lockdown period. METHOD: Participants included 291 families with children between 3 and 11 years of age. The children were assessed by parents through the Child and Adolescent Assessment System (SENA) at three time points: T1 (before COVID-19 confinement), T2 (after the children had spent between 4 and 6 weeks confined), and T3 (one year after the beginning of the pandemic). RESULTS: For Preschoolers, no statistical differences were found in any scale or time point. For primary-school children, the differences between T1 and T3 were not significant. Comparisons between T2 and T3 showed significant differences in Willingness to study, Emotional regulation and Hyperactivity and impulsivity. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that returning to school might have improved some dimensions of primary-school children's well-being. However, it seems that neither the confinement nor the restrictive measures have had a negative effect on our sample. To interpret these findings, we discuss the psychological factors of protection and vulnerability.

A Year of Pandemic: Psychological Effects in Spanish Children from 3 to 11 Years of Age / Un Año de Pandemia: Efectos Psicológicos en Niños Españoles de 3 a 11 Años

Background: After the lockdown, schools adopted measures to avoid infection, which changed pre-pandemic routines.We evaluated whether the new school conditions constituted a stress factor for children or contributed to their recoveryafter the impact of the lockdown period. Method: Participants included 291 families with children between 3 and 11years of age. The children were assessed by parents through the Child and Adolescent Assessment System (SENA)at three time points: T1 (before COVID-19 confinement), T2 (after the children had spent between 4 and 6 weeksconfined), and T3 (one year after the beginning of the pandemic). Results: For Preschoolers, no statistical differenceswere found in any scale or time point. For primary-school children, the differences between T1 and T3 were notsignificant. Comparisons between T2 and T3 showed significant differences in Willingness to study, Emotionalregulation and Hyperactivity and impulsivity. Conclusions: Our results suggest that returning to school might haveimproved some dimensions of primary-school children’s well-being. However, it seems that neither the confinementnor the restrictive measures have had a negative effect on our sample. To interpret these findings, we discuss thepsychological factors of protection and vulnerability.(AU)

Antecedentes: Tras el confinamiento, la escuela se adaptó a las restricciones para controlar el COVID-19. Evaluamos si elregreso al colegio constituyó un estresor para los niños o contribuyó a su recuperación tras el impacto del confinamiento.Método: Participaron 291 familias con niños entre 3 y 11 años. Los padres evaluaron a los niños a través del Sistemade Evaluación de Niños y Adolescentes (SENA) en tres momentos: T1 (unas semanas antes del confinamiento), T2(después de estar entre 4 y 6 semanas confinados) y T3 (un año después del inicio de la pandemia). Resultados: Paralos niños de Infantil, las comparaciones no mostraron diferencias en ninguna de las escalas y ninguno de los tiemposevaluados. Para los niños de Primaria, no se hallaron diferencias entre T1 y T3. La comparación entre T2 y T3 indicóuna mejora en las escalas Disposición al estudio, Regulación emocional e Hiperactividad e impulsividad. Conclusiones:La vuelta al colegio contribuyó a mejorar algunas dimensiones en los niños de Primaria. Sin embargo, parece que ni elconfinamiento ni las posteriores medidas restrictivas han tenido un impacto negativo en los niños de esta muestra. Parainterpretar estos resultados discutimos los factores de protección y vulnerabilidad psicológica.(AU)

Longitudinal Effects of the Pandemic and Confinement on the Anxiety Levels of a Sample of Spanish Children in Primary Education.

(1) Background: The psychological effects of confinement due to the SARS-CoV-2 virus pandemic on children are only partially known. In Madrid, Spain, children suffered a strict confinement for 10 weeks and they returned to school under conditions that were far from normal. This work assesses the effects of the pandemic on the anxiety levels of a group of children living in Madrid. (2) Methods: Children were aged 6 to 11 years (N = 215). A self-report measure of anxiety was completed by participants at two time-points: (1) a few months before the beginning of the pandemic and (2) 1 year later. A smaller subgroup of participants also completed the measure during the confinement period (n = 60). (3) Results: A comparison of these three measures shows that the children's anxiety was reduced during confinement, and that one year later these levels continue below those registered before the start of the pandemic. (4) Conclusions: These results contradict some previous studies, which found an increase in children's anxiety as a result of confinement and the pandemic. The discussion considers protective and vulnerability factors in the context of the pandemic, which may affect children's levels of anxiety.

The Relative Age Effects in Educational Development: A Systematic Review.

There is a large number of variables, studied in the literature, that affect the integral development of students in the educational stage, but few research analyze the effects that relative age can have on development. The aim of this study is to review and summarize the results obtained, on this subject, in recent research. The methodology used has followed the PRISMA declaration. The final sample is composed by 21 articles, which use data from 24 countries and 32 assessments. The main conclusions indicate that relatively younger children in same class groups: (a) obtain significantly lower mean scores in cognitive and motor tests, (b) have a higher repetition rate, and (c) have a less capacity of socialization. Finally, it should be noted that considering the results obtained by the research on relative age effect on child development, some authors propose to adapt educational practices to minimize these effects.

Efficacy of a Web-Enabled, School-Based, Preventative Intervention to Reduce Bullying and Improve Mental Health in Children and Adolescents: Study Protocol for a Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction: Bullying is a major preventable risk factor for mental disorders. Available evidence suggests school-based interventions reduce bullying prevalence rates. This study aims to test the efficacy of a web-enabled, school-based, multicomponent anti-bullying intervention to prevent school bullying and to assess its effects on mental health and quality of life. Methods and analysis: Cluster randomized controlled trial conducted in 20 publicly funded primary and secondary schools in Madrid, Spain. Schools are randomly allocated to either the intervention arm (n = 10) or conventional practices arm (n = 10). The web-enabled intervention (LINKlusive) lasts ~12 weeks and consists of three main components: (i) an online training program for teachers and parents, (ii) a web-guided educational program for students, focusing on promoting respect for diversity, empathy, and social skill development, and (iii) a web-guided, teacher-delivered, targeted intervention program for bullying situations identified based on peer-support strategies and individual intervention for those involved (i.e., bullying victims and perpetrators). The primary objective is to compare differences between peer-reported bullying victimization in the intervention and control arms at the end of the intervention. Secondary outcome measures are additional measures of bullying victimization and perpetration, mental health symptoms, self-esteem, and quality of life. A follow-up assessment is conducted 1 year after the end of the intervention. Treatment effects will be tested using multilevel mixed models, adjusting for school-, classroom-, and student-related covariates. Considering the increased bullying rates in children with special educational needs, a specific subgroup analysis will test the efficacy of the intervention on bullying prevalence, mental health, and quality of life in this particularly vulnerable population. Ethics and Dissemination: The Deontology Commission of the School of Psychology, Universidad Complutense in Madrid, Spain reviewed the study protocol and granted ethical approval on 21st January 2019. The results of the trial will be disseminated in relevant peer-reviewed journals and at conferences in the field. Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN15719015.

Six Weeks of Confinement: Psychological Effects on a Sample of Children in Early Childhood and Primary Education.

Spain has been one of the countries most affected by the health crisis derived from COVID-19. Within this country, the city of Madrid has registered the highest number of infections and deaths. This circumstance led to the adoption of strict confinement measures for a period of 6 weeks. The objective of the present study was to investigate the psychological effects that this confinement has had on the psychological well-being of a sample of children from Madrid. A total of 167 families with children aged between 3 and 11 years participated in this study. The parents evaluated the children through the System of Evaluation of Children and Adolescents (SENA) scale in the month of February and refilled part of the same scale after the children had spent between 4 and 6 weeks confined. The comparison between the two measures showed no change among the 3-year-old children. However, change was observed among the 6-10-year-old. Children in Primary Education obtained lower scores in dimensions related to self-regulation (emotional, attentional, and behavioral) and in willingness to study. The results are discussed in light of the situation experienced between the months of March and May 2020.

The Relationship between Emotion Regulation and Emotion Knowledge in Preschoolers: A Longitudinal Study.

Numerous studies have shown the important role of both emotion regulation (ER) and emotion knowledge (EK) in child development. Despite the number of studies carried out on both variables, there is practically no research on the developmental relationship between these two constructs. We present a longitudinal study to explore the relationship between EK and ER in preschoolers in which we measured these variables over 3 academic years in a cohort of 108 preschool children using the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC) and the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC). The ERC is divided into 2 subscales: Emotional Regulation (ER) and Lability/Negativity (L/N). Two cross-lagged models were constructed in order to examine the predictive power of ER and L/N on EK across the three time points. The results suggest that ER is an ability that precedes and predicts EK during preschool years. We also discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.

Bullying, defending, and outsider behaviors: The moderating role of social status and gender in their relationship with empathy.

The aim of the present study was to examine whether the effect of empathy on the role children play in bullying situations, as either bullies, defenders or outsiders, was moderated by children's social status within their classroom, and whether this moderation was gender dependent. For this purpose, we used a representative sample of 2,050 Spanish primary school children (50.80% girls) from grades 3-6 (Mage = 9.80 years; SD = 1.24), recruited from 27 primary schools. Results showed that the effect of empathy on bullying behavior was moderated by the sociometric rating only in girls. Both empathy and social rating had an effect on defending behavior. However, neither the children's sociometric rating nor their gender moderated the relationship between empathy and defending and outsider behaviors. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for interventions designed to prevent bullying in school settings.

La evaluación multi-informante de la regulación emocional en edad preescolar: un estudio longitudinal / The multi-informant assessment of emotion regulation in pre-school years: A longitudinal study

En la actualidad existe un gran consenso sobre la necesidad de utilizar la evaluación multi-informante, especialmente cuando tratamos con población infantil. En el ámbito de la regulación emocional no hay estudios que comparen la evaluación de distintos informantes en edades tempranas. Este trabajo pretende indagar sobre la coincidencia de padres y profesores a la hora de valorar la capacidad de autorregulación emocional de los niños y examinar la estabilidad de dicha valoración a lo largo del tiempo. Para ello, evaluamos la autorregulación emocional a través de padres (n = 34) y profesores (n = 87) en un grupo de 108 niños de 3 años al que hemos seguido a lo largo de tres cursos escolares. Se utilizó el cuestionario Emotion Regulation Checklist. Tanto padres como profesores perciben una disminución en los niveles de labilidad/negatividad a lo largo del tiempo, siendo mayores los cambios detectados por los profesores. En regulación emocional solo los profesores observaron cambios. Se discuten las implicaciones de estos resultados tanto para la evaluación como para la intervención en los procesos de autorregulación en la infancia

There is a broad consensus today about the need to use multi-informant assessment, especially when dealing with young children. However, there have been no studies conducted to compare different informants assessing emotion regulation at an early age. The aim of this study was to inquire about the coincidence of parents and teachers in assessing children's emotion self-regulation and to assess the stability of this assessment over time. We assessed emotion self-regulation by parents (n = 34) and teachers (n = 87) in a group of 108 3-year-old children that we followed over three school years. The Emotion Regulation Checklist was used. The results show that both parents and teachers perceive a decrease in the levels of lability/negativity in children over time, with major changes identified by teachers. Regarding the emotion regulation dimension, only teachers observed changes. These findings have implications for both the assessment and the intervention on emotional self-regulation processes in childhood

Bryant's Empathy Index: Structure and Measurement Invariance across Gender in a Sample of Primary School-Aged Children.

The purpose of this study was to examine the dimensional structure and measurement invariance of Bryant's Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents (IECA) (Bryant, 1982) across gender in a representative sample of primary school-aged children in Spain. The sample consisted of 2,050 children (50.80% girls), with a mean age of 9.80 years (SD = 1.24), recruited from 27 primary schools. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. The model that presented the best fit indices was Lasa, Holgado, Carrasco, and del Barrio's (2008) three-factor model: Understanding Feelings, Feelings of Sadness, and Tearful Reaction. The levels of internal consistency for the subscales ranged from .76 to .83. In addition, the results partially support the measurement invariance of the IECA across gender. When the latent means of the empathy dimensions were compared across gender, statistically significant differences were found. These results coincide with those found in the literature showing the multidimensionality of the IECA. Specifically, the findings support its three-factor structure and its invariance across gender, making it a very useful instrument for exploring the expression of empathy in primary school children.

La evaluación del cyberbullying: Situación actual y retos futuros / The assessment of cyberbullying: The present situation and future challenge

En la última década se ha asistido a un notable incremento del interés de la comunidad educativa y científica por el cyberbullying, una nueva forma de maltrato e intimidación entre iguales. A pesar de la amplia proliferación de estudios y de instrumentos de evaluación sobre el fenómeno, siguen existiendo importantes lagunas conceptuales y metodológicas. Este trabajo ofrece una revisión general y actualizada de los resultados de la investigación sobre la definición del constructo, su prevalencia y su impacto en las personas implicadas. Finalmente, se centra de manera específica en la evaluación del constructo y proporciona una breve revisión de las características generales y psicométricas de aquellos instrumentos utilizados en algunos de los estudios nacionales e internacionales más relevantes realizados sobre el tema. El trabajo hace especial hincapié en los retos presentes y futuros y finaliza con algunas recomendaciones generales que pretenden guiar en la selección y/o construcción adecuada de instrumentos de evaluación en este campo de estudio

In the last decade there has been a significant increase in the interest of the educational and scientific community on cyberbullying, a new form of peer abuse and intimidation. Despite the widespread proliferation of studies and assessment tools on the phenomenon, there are still major conceptual and methodological gaps. This paper offers a comprehensive and updated review of the results of research on the definition of the construct, its prevalence and its impact on the people involved. Finally, it focuses specifically on the assessment of the construct and provides a brief review of the general and psychometric characteristics of the instruments used in some of the most relevant national and international studies conducted on the subject. This work places special emphasis on the present and future challenges and concludes with a number of general recommendations intended to guide the correct selection and/or construction of assessment instruments in this field of study

Bryant’s empathy index: structure and measurement invariance across gender in a sample of primary school-aged children

The purpose of this study was to examine the dimensional structure and measurement invariance of Bryant’s Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescents (IECA) (Bryant, 1982) across gender in a representative sample of primary school-aged children in Spain. The sample consisted of 2,050 children (50.80% girls), with a mean age of 9.80 years (SD = 1.24), recruited from 27 primary schools. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted. The model that presented the best fit indices was Lasa, Holgado, Carrasco, and del Barrio’s (2008) three-factor model: Understanding Feelings, Feelings of Sadness, and Tearful Reaction. The levels of internal consistency for the subscales ranged from .76 to .83. In addition, the results partially support the measurement invariance of the IECA across gender. When the latent means of the empathy dimensions were compared across gender, statistically significant differences were found. These results coincide with those found in the literature showing the multidimensionality of the IECA. Specifically, the findings support its three-factor structure and its invariance across gender, making it a very useful instrument for exploring the expression of empathy in primary school children (AU)

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Factores que inciden en el desarrollo de la teoría de la mente en niños con discapacidad auditiva / Fatores que influenciam no desenvolvimento da teoria da mente das crianças com deficiência auditiva / Factors affecting the development of theory of mindin deaf children

La pérdida de audición no sólo tiene consecuencias permanentes en el desarrollo del lenguaje oralsino que, por su papel fundamental en procesos cognitivos más complejos, puede alterar el desarrollo intelectual, emocional y social del niño. El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo revisar los estudios sobre el desarrollo de la teoría de la mente en los niños con discapacidad auditiva (DA) y, por lo tanto, trata de aclarar el panorama de la investigación reciente sobre cómo es la pauta de adquisición y qué factores explican dicha pauta en niños con DA. Se comprueba que los niños signantes tardíos presentan retraso con respecto a sus iguales oyentes en relación al desarrollo de la teoría de la mente aunque siguen la misma pauta de adquisición

A perda de audição não tem somente consequências permanentes no desenvolvimento da língua oral, mas, pelo papel fundamental que tem nos processos cognitivos mais complexos, pode alterar o desenvolvimento intelectual, emocional e social da criança. Este trabalho tem como objetivo revisar os estudos sobre o desenvolvimento da teoria da mente em crianças com deficiência auditiva e, portanto, busca apresentar o panorama da pesquisa recente sobre como é a pauta de aquisição da teoria da mente e quais são os fatores que explicam essas pautas nas crianças com deficiência auditiva. Comprova-se que aquelas crianças que aprendem língua de sinais de forma tardia apresentam um atraso com respeito a seus pares ouvintes no tocante ao desenvolvimento da teoria da mente, porém mantêm a mesma pauta de aquisição

Deafness has not only permanent eff ects on oral language development but its role in complex cogniti ve processes can alter the intellectual, emoti onal and social development. This paper aims to review the literature in recent years on development of theory of mind in deaf children and therefore clarify how is the patt ern of acquisiti on and what factors explain this patt ern in deaf children. The results indicate delay in the development of theory of mind in late signers compared to their hearing peers. Yet, the same patt ern of acquisiti on is found in deaf and hearing children.

The impact of abuse and learning difficulties on emotion understanding in late childhood and early adolescence.

Children's affective experiences and cognitive abilities have an impact on emotion understanding. However, their relative contribution, as well as the possibility of an interaction between them, has rarely been examined. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of severe abuse and learning difficulties on simple and complex components of emotion understanding in late childhood and early adolescence. A total of 28 older children and young adolescents were selected for the study. Half of the participants had suffered from severe abuse, and half of these abused children additionally had learning disabilities. The remaining half of the sample had no history of abuse but were matched with the abused children on learning difficulties, age and gender. The participants' emotion understanding was assessed with the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC). Results showed that (a) learning difficulties but not abuse had an impact on emotion understanding, (b) there was no interaction effect of abuse and learning difficulties on emotion understanding, and (b) the observed effects of learning difficulties were most apparent for the understanding of relatively complex components of emotion and not for simple components. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications.