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JDR Vol.18 No.1 pp. 48-56
(2023)
doi: 10.20965/jdr.2023.p0048

Note:

Life and Stress of Japanese Children and Adolescents During the Prolonged Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic

Junko Okuyama*1,*2,†, Shuji Seto*2,*3, Yu Fukuda*4, Kiyoshi Ito*2,*3, Fumihiko Imamura*2,*3, Shunichi Funakoshi*5, and Shin-Ichi Izumi*1

*1Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University
2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8575, Japan

Corresponding author

*2Core Research Cluster of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

*3International Research Institute of Disaster Science (IRIDeS), Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan

*4Faculty of Literature, Notre Dame Seishin University, Okayama, Japan

*5Miyagi Psychiatric Center, Natori, Japan

Received:
August 28, 2022
Accepted:
November 25, 2022
Published:
January 20, 2023
Keywords:
prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, children and adolescents, web survey, exercise, stress
Abstract

This study surveyed adult web monitor enrollees about the lives of and stress experienced by Japanese children and adolescents during the prolonged coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The survey was conducted on February 10, 2022 (after the sixth wave) and August 19, 2022 (during the seventh wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan), with 231 and 217 survey participants, respectively. The questionnaire was designed so that adults could assess the frequency of exercise, and difficulties experienced by children and adolescents around them. Regarding exercise opportunities, 22% of parents of middle and high school children reported that children’s exercise opportunities “stayed the same” or “increased considerably” in the first survey. Whereas, in the second survey, all parents of middle and high school children reported that children’s exercise opportunities “decreased.” Regarding stress, 17% of parents of adolescents 18 years and older responded that the stress experienced was the “same as before” or “a little less than before” in the first survey, but all of these parents responded “quite a bit” to the same question in the second survey. The findings suggest that the life changes caused by the COVID-19 pandemic may have a significant impact on children and adolescents and may increase stress. The long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and adolescents should be further investigated.

Cite this article as:
J. Okuyama, S. Seto, Y. Fukuda, K. Ito, F. Imamura, S. Funakoshi, and S. Izumi, “Life and Stress of Japanese Children and Adolescents During the Prolonged Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Pandemic,” J. Disaster Res., Vol.18 No.1, pp. 48-56, 2023.
Data files:
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Last updated on Nov. 04, 2024