Children's Daily Lives and Well-being: Findings from the CORONA-CODOMO Survey #1

Hangai, Mayumi; Piedvache, Aurelie; Sawada, Naomi; Okubo, Yusuke; Sampei, Makiko; Yamaoka, Yui; Tanaka, Kyoko; Hosozawa, Mariko; Morisaki, Naho; Igarashi, Takashi

BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed people's lives dramatically. Few data on the acute effects of the pandemic on children's daily lives and well-being have been published to date. This study aimed to capture the effects on Japanese children during the first peak of the outbreak. METHODS: We conducted a web-based, anonymous cross-sectional survey targeting Japanese children aged 7-17 years and parents/guardians of children aged 0-17 years. Eligible individuals were invited to the survey from April 30 to May 31, 2020. This self-report questionnaire examined daily life and behaviors, psychological symptoms, well-being, quality of life, and positive parenting or abusive behaviors at the very beginning of the outbreak. RESULTS: A total of 2,591 children and 6,116 parents/guardians participated in our survey. Sixty-two percent of children reported screen time exceeding 2 hours. Twenty percent of children reported abusive behaviors by family members. Nine in ten parents/guardians of school-aged children reported their child had at least one acute stress symptom in the past month. Average mental health subscale scores from KINDL-R questionnaire on quality of life were lower than the national average for all grades. Nearly half of parents/guardians refrained from seeking medical care for the child's symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic had serious acute impacts on Japanese children's daily lives, well-being, family relationships and health care utilization, including some impacts that are potentially long-lasting; thus, proactive interventions and services are needed, as well as longitudinal surveys.