Children born in England between March 23, 2020, and June 23, 2020, displayed lower levels of executive function skills at four years of age, a study published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood has revealed. These essential skills, which include planning, problem-solving, and adapting to new situations, were found to be less developed in a cohort of 205 children whose first year of life coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated restrictions.
The study, conducted by researchers at City St George's, University of London, highlights the unique disruption these infants experienced due to severely restricted social interaction. Government measures during the period of March 23, 2020, to July 19, 2021, included limitations on social contact, mandated social distancing, mask-wearing, and the closure of facilities like baby groups.
Researchers assessed the children using standardized measures for language and non-verbal reasoning. Parents also completed questionnaires detailing their children's emotional control, working memory, planning and organizational abilities, independent problem-solving skills, and both fine and gross motor skills. The findings indicated that executive functioning, as reported by caregivers, was below typical pre-pandemic levels and also lower than what might be expected based on the children's non-verbal reasoning scores.
Approximately one-third of the children in the sample were identified as having executive functioning needs. The researchers suggest that limited social diversity in early life may have impacted these everyday skills, potentially making it harder for children to settle into tasks, follow instructions, resist distractions, or adjust their behavior based on feedback.
While overall language scores were generally at or above expected age levels, a more nuanced picture emerged when analyzing specific language skills. Expressive language, the ability to use words to convey oneself, was found to be below expectations when benchmarked against non-verbal reasoning abilities. The study posits that receptive language, or the understanding of language, might have been supported by increased parental attention during lockdown. However, expressive language may have been affected by the reduction in varied interactions with people outside the immediate household.
Motor skills were reported to be in line with pre-pandemic age expectations. The study is observational, and researchers caution that firm conclusions about cause and effect cannot be drawn. Limitations include the lack of a matched comparison group and the potential for parental bias in caregiver-reported assessments of executive functioning and motor skills. Additionally, while the sample included diverse demographic backgrounds, participating families tended to have higher educational levels than the general English population.