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| Photo Illustration: Bob Cervas for The Wall Street Journal |
Scientists and economists look at what learning loss and disruption could bring for a generation of students—and what can be done about it
Now that Covid-19 is steaming into its third year, brain scientists, psychiatrists, educators and economists are starting to ask how the generation of children coming of age will be affected as adults.
It’s a complex forecast likely to vary widely by country and class. While some kids will become stronger and more resilient adults, many are at risk for increased struggles across their lifetime. Scientists compare the shadow cast by the pandemic across this generation to the imprint left on the children of the Great Depression.
A critical variable: Could steps be taken to mitigate the damage? Some researchers see opportunities there—if resources are brought to bear.
Children will be most affected because they are in their formative years, said Sean Deoni, director of MRI Research at Rhode Island Hospital and a professor at Brown University.
Since 2009, Dr. Deoni’s lab has measured the cognitive development of children and adolescents. A year and a half into the pandemic, the IQ scores of 700 children from newborns up to the age of three, fell to an average of about 80 from 100 in the previous years. They have since ticked up slightly.
Dr. Deoni attributes the decline to less social interaction during Covid during a critical period of brain development. “There was just less stimulation,” he said.
The permanence of the decline remains an open question, he said. Children’s brains are very elastic, but research shows the foundation for adulthood is laid in the first 1,000 days of life. IQ scores begin to stabilize starting around the age of 5, he said.
For school-age children, concerns center on the impact of missed months or even years of class. --->READ MORE HERE
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| Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images |
A study posted in the National Library of Medicine documented the "significant" increase in body weight in children during coronavirus lockdowns and concluded that young people with pre-existing obesity, of Hispanic and African-American ethnicity and living in poverty suffered the most.
The study, published in July by the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, combed through a biomedical literature database to assess "the extent and risk factors of lockdown-induced weight increase" as well as "the impact of obesity on the risk of hospital admission in children and adolescents."
The study found that a "significant weight increase was reported in the majority of subjects" regardless of age and gender, particularly in children who were already struggling with weight issues.
"The highest weight/BMI increase was observed in children with pre-existing overweight/obesity, of Hispanic and African American ethnicity, and in those living unfavorable socioeconomic conditions, therefore, most vulnerable to unhealthy lifestyle, food insecurity, family and social stress (i.e., lower parental psychological and educational support, and higher financial concerns/limitations), and with difficult access to academic resources and healthcare services," the study states. --->READ MORE HEREFollow links below to relevant/related stories and resources:
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