COVID-19, Digital Media, and Health| Children’s and Parents’ Worries About Online Schooling Associated With Children’s Anxiety During Lockdown in Ireland

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has persisted as a worrying time for children who have been using technology for online schooling during lockdown and their parents. This study investigates the extent of children’s and parents’ self-reported worries associated with children’s anxiety during lockdown in Ireland. Data for 461 children and 461 parents were analyzed from the Ireland dataset obtained as part of the Kids’ Digital Lives in COVID-19 Times (KiDiCoTi) international survey. Children reported worries about keeping up with school activities online, getting poor grades, and completing their schoolwork online. Parents reported worries about COVID-19 having a negative influence on their children’s education and their children being exposed to more online risks. Children’s worries about school explained much of the variance of their anxiety to a significant degree, whereas parents’ worries explained that variance to a lesser extent. Implications of these results are discussed in the article.