Daily Life Changes and Life Satisfaction among Korean School-Aged Children in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Jihye Choi, Youjeong Park, Hye-Eun Kim, Jihyeok Song, Daeun Lee, Eunhye Lee, Hyeonjin Kang, Jeeho Lee, Jihyeon Park, Ji-Woo Lee, Seongeun Ye, Seul Lee, Sohee Ryu, Yeojeong Kim, Ye-Ri Kim, Yu-Jin Kim and Yuseon Lee
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Jihye Choi: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Youjeong Park: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Hye-Eun Kim: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Jihyeok Song: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Daeun Lee: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Eunhye Lee: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Hyeonjin Kang: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Jeeho Lee: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Jihyeon Park: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Ji-Woo Lee: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Seongeun Ye: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Seul Lee: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Sohee Ryu: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Yeojeong Kim: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Ye-Ri Kim: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Yu-Jin Kim: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea
Yuseon Lee: Department of Child Development and Family Studies, College of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul 08826, Korea

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-17

Abstract: The recent COVID-19 pandemic has been disrupting the daily lives of people across the world, causing a major concern for psychological well-being in children. This study aimed to examine (1) how life satisfaction and its potential predictors have been affected by the pandemic among school-aged children in Korea, and (2) which factors would predict their life satisfaction during the pandemic. We surveyed 166 fourth-graders in the Seoul metropolitan area to assess their psychological well-being and potentially related variables during the pandemic. The data were compared with those available from two pre-COVID-19 surveys, the 2018 Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey ( n = 1236) and the 2019 Korean Children and Youth Well-being Index Survey ( n = 334). Higher levels of stress were observed in children during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, the level of their life satisfaction remained unchanged when compared with data from the pre-COVID-19 surveys. The pandemic also affected peer relationship quality and susceptibility to smartphone addiction, but not perceived parenting style nor academic engagement. Interestingly, peer relationship quality no longer predicted life satisfaction during the pandemic; perceived parenting styles and parent-child conversation time predicted life satisfaction. The results suggest a central role of parent-child relationship in supporting the psychological well-being of school-aged children during the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; life satisfaction; parent-child relationship; psychological well-being; school-aged children (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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