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Children born during the pandemic score lower on cognitive tests, study finds

Mellouk89
Mellouk89 Posts: 469 Member
in Debate Club
You can read the study for yourself, but it's pretty dramatic :

https://www.bmj.com/content/374/bmj.n2031

Children born during the pandemic score markedly lower on standard measures of verbal, motor, and overall cognitive ability, US researchers have found.

In a longitudinal study of 672 children from Rhode Island that has run since 2011, those born after the pandemic began showed results on the Mullen scales of early learning that corresponded to an average IQ score of 78, a drop of 22 points from the average of previous cohorts.

The researchers have largely ruled out a direct effect of the virus, as mothers or children with a history of testing positive for covid-19 were excluded from the analysis. Instead, the authors say, reduced interaction with parents and less outdoor exercise are likely culprits, along with effects that occurred during pregnancy.

Replies

  • Ketomoijo
    Ketomoijo Posts: 89 Member
    I can’t see any of those being the culprit since lockdowns and working from home parents have spent a lot more one to one time with babies. That would only improve motor and cognitive skills .

    The only downside I personally have seen are socially.. the lack of social interaction.. all these babies know are their own households.
  • Speakeasy76
    Speakeasy76 Posts: 961 Member
    Oh, wow. As an early intervention therapist, this is alarming. I wonder if we'll be seeing an increase in referrals from this. I am surprised that children born before the pandemic don't seem to be affected as well. It would seem like even just limited exposure to places outside of the home, especially with the opportunity to be around other children, would impact them, too. However, it may be too soon to measure that, and that is something that is not easily measured on standardized tests for kids that young.

    When parents had to work from home, I'm sure many little ones were exposed to way more screen time (understandably) to keep them entertained. Also, if parents are stressed, anxious and depressed, it can affect how they interact with their children. I also know that across the country standardized academic scores are down for school-age children as well.

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