Half of all children suffered a setback to their emotional and social development during the first year of the pandemic, with younger siblings more likely to have been negatively affected than their older brothers and sisters, according to a survey of parents.
Children from all economic backgrounds in England were affected, the research found, though those aged four to seven were significantly more likely to have suffered a deterioration in their skills than 12- to 15-year-olds.
Youngsters whose parents’ employment changed as a result of the pandemic, including those who were furloughed, were also far more likely to see their social and emotional skills worsen, the report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said.
In contrast, the social and emotional development of just one in six children improved over the same period, according to research by the IFS and UCL Institute of Education, funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
Much of the existing research on children’s experience of the pandemic and beyond has focused on the impact on learning and has shown that those from disadvantaged backgrounds have been most severely affected.
This latest study looks instead at the impact of parents’ experiences in the labour market on their children’s social and emotional development and finds that children from wealthier as well as poorer families have seen their social and emotional development adversely affected.
