Anxiety, sleep habits and executive function during the COVID-19 pandemic through parents' perception: a longitudinal study.

The present study therefore aims to examine trait and state anxiety, sleep habits and executive functioning during 1 year and a half of the COVID-19 pandemic in children and adolescents through the lens of parents. Assessments were conducted at three different times: April 2020 (T1), October 2020 (T2) and October 2021 (T3). The main sample included 953 children and adolescents aged 6 to 18 years, and scales were used to assess anxiety (STAIC), sleep habits (BEARS) and executive functioning (BRIEF-2). The results showed that 6 months after the outbreak of the pandemic, state and trait anxiety, sleep disturbances and executive dysfunctions increased significantly. One and a half year later, trait anxiety and sleep disturbances have been maintained, while state anxiety and executive dysfunction have decreased their scores obtaining scores similar to those of April 2020. In conclusion, there has been a further decrease in children and adolescents' mental health since the beginning of the pandemic, and it seems to remain at the present time, such as trait anxiety as a part of the personality.

Implications of the Online Teaching Model Derived from the COVID-19 Lockdown Situation for Anxiety and Executive Functioning in Spanish Children and Adolescents.

Given the seriousness of the existing situation regarding the mental health of children and adolescents relating to the confinement period imposed due to COVID-19, we conducted this study to describe the effects of the confinement on state anxiety and executive functioning dimensions in a period of online educational modality. A sample of 953 children and adolescents was assessed. A sociodemographic questionnaire, the State Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC), and the Behavioral Evaluation of Executive Function (BRIEF-2) scale were applied. The analysis of the results indicates that 68.8% of children and adolescents presented medium-high levels of anxiety. Regarding sex, females showed higher levels of anxiety and worse levels of executive functioning. Although the group aged 11 to 18 years showed methodologically higher state anxiety (p = 0.041) than the group aged 6 to 10 years, the difference was not clinically relevant (δ = -0.113). The state anxiety variable was also correlated positively and significantly to the three executive functioning dimensions explored. In conclusion, it seems evident that COVID-19 lockdowns could have psychological and emotional effects on children and adolescents.

Flipped Classroom: Active Methodology for Sustainable Learning in Higher Education during Social Distancing Due to COVID-19

Methodological guidelines for virtual teaching during the lockdown, tailored to Flipped Classroom, are suggested by the Spanish University Education System. This educational methodology is recommended as an effective method for distance learning due to COVID-19 by several articles, studies, research, universities and institutions in different countries around the world. However, what is the impact of these extreme circumstances on the implementation of Flipped Classroom in Higher Education? The study design is a descriptive and correlational research that compares the frequency of the implementation of Flipped Classroom before and during social distancing. This information is provided by the participants, university professors from the Faculty of Education Sciences of the University of Malaga, through an ad hoc questionnaire. The results reveal a significant increase in the frequency of Flipped Classroom sessions (z = −4.80;p <.001) during the lockdown. The data also show a significant increase in the quantity and variety of didactic resources (t = −2.390;p = 0.021), mainly those related to Flipped Classroom, with video (z = −2.860, p = 0.004) and audio (z = −2.049, p = 0.040) files. University professors consider virtual teaching during the lockdown an opportunity for Flipped Classroom and digital skills that could improve the quality of university educational methodology.

Consequences of Confinement Due to COVID-19 in Spain on Anxiety, Sleep and Executive Functioning of Children and Adolescents with ADHD

The outbreak and the quick expansion of SARS-CoV-2, from December 2019 to today, has forced countries around the world to resolve virus containment measures in order to slow down the contagion curve. Between these measures, the situation of lockdown, and the isolation or limitation of social contact between the citizens, there has been an unknown psychological impact. Certain groups (the elderly, children and teenagers, and the clinical population, for instance) arouse serious fears among professionals due to their greater vulnerability and ignorance regarding the short- and long-term consequences. The main purposes of this work are first of all to evaluate the consequences of the lockdown in children and teenagers diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), sleep-related problems, and problems with executive functions. Secondly, we aim to compare the effects produced with respect to the previously mentioned variables with normotypic subjects;that is to say, between a group that was subject to lockdown and another group that was not confined. The findings show that the clinic confined group had high levels of state anxiety and problems with sleep and executive functions;differences could also be seen between the two groups, with the confined ADHD group being more negatively affected in all measured variables.

Consequences of COVID-19 Confinement on Anxiety, Sleep and Executive Functions of Children and Adolescents in Spain.

Children and adolescents are not indifferent to the dramatic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the need to be forced to live in confinement. The change in life to which they have been abruptly subjected forces us to understand the state of their mental health in order to adequately address both their present and future needs. The present study was carried out with the intention of studying the consequences of confinement on anxiety, sleep routines and executive functioning of 1,028 children and adolescents, aged from 6 to 18 years, residing in Spain to; assess if there are differences regarding these consequences in terms of sex and age; how anxiety affects executive functioning in males and females; and to examine the possible correlations between the measured variables. For this purpose, an online questionnaire containing five sections was designed: the first section gathers information on sociodemographic and health data, while the following sections gather information from different standardized scales which measure anxiety, sleep and executive functions, whose items were adapted in order to be completed by parents, and/or legal guardians. The statistical analyzes carried out highlights significant differences in executive functioning between males and females. In turn, in regards to age, greater difficulties were detected in anxiety in the 9 to 12 age group and greater sleep disturbances between 13 and 18 year olds. On the other hand, significant differences were found in intra-sexual executive functioning depending on whether they presented greater or lesser anxiety, with executive functioning being more tendentiously maladjusted in males than in females, revealing a significantly relevant effect size (p = 0.001; ω2 = 0.27 BRIEF-2; ω2 = 0.19 BDEFS-CA; 95%). Positive correlations are obtained between state anxiety and sleep and executive functioning alterations. Finally, through Path Analysis, it is verified that state anxiety is the variable with the greatest weight within the model that would explain the alteration in the executive functioning of the present sample.