ArticleBMJ open2021
How is the COVID-19 lockdown impacting the mental health of parents of school-age children in the UK? A cross-sectional online survey.
Article in BMJ open, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 35 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
35 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 65 citations in OpenAlex.
- Uptake of COVID-19 vaccinations amongst 3,433,483 children and young people: meta-analysis of UK prospective cohorts.Nature communications · 2024Pooled it
- Measuring loneliness at a national scale: The measuring loneliness in England (INTERACT) study's approach and initial findings.BMC global and public health · 2026Article
- Assessing the association of physical distancing to avoid COVID-19 with health-related quality of life in immunocompromised adolescents: results from the cross-sectional observational EAGLE study.Frontiers in pediatrics · 2026Article
- Testing Bidirectional Associations Between Maternal and Child Depression During Emerging Adolescence.JAMA pediatrics · 2025Article
- School Refusal Behavior in Japan: The Impact of COVID-19 on Children.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Review
- Implementing mental health support teams in schools and colleges: the perspectives of programme implementers and service providers.Journal of mental health (Abingdon, England) · 2024Article
- The Association Between Physical Distancing Behaviors to Avoid COVID-19 and Health-Related Quality of Life in Immunocompromised and Nonimmunocompromised Individuals: Patient-Informed Protocol for the Observational, Cross-Sectional EAGLE Study.JMIR research protocols · 2024Observational
- Three years of COVID-19-related school restrictions and mental health of children and adolescents in Japan.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young people living with HIV in Lesotho: a qualitative study.BMJ public health · 2024Article
- Addressing loneliness and social isolation in 52 countries: a scoping review of National policies.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Parental loneliness, perceptions of parenting, and psychosocial factors among parents having new children during the COVID-19 pandemic.Global health & medicine · 2023Article
- Parental Challenges During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Psychological Outcomes and Risk and Protective Factors.Current psychiatry reports · 2023Review
- Parents' depression and anxiety associated with hyperactivity-inattention and emotional symptoms in children during school closure due to COVID-19 in France.Scientific reports · 2023Article
- Parents' Perceptions of Children's Behavioral Difficulties and the Parent-Child Interaction During the COVID-19 Lockdown.Journal of family issues · 2023Article
- Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal mental health, early childhood development, and parental practices: a global scoping review.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Being a Parent of Children with Disabilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Multi-Method Study of Health, Social Life, and Occupational Situation.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Impact of COVID-19 pandemic in children using non-invasive ventilation: a thematic analysis of caregivers answers to a survey study.Frontiers in sleep · 2023Article
- Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on adherence to noninvasive ventilation in children.Journal of clinical sleep medicine : JCSM : official publication of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine · 2023Article
- Perceived Social Support in Parents of Hospitalized Children During COVID-19.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2023Article
- Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on insomnia and sleep efficiency in parents and caregivers of young children.Frontiers in sleep · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveInvestigate the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on feelings of loneliness and social isolation in parents of school-age children.
designCross-sectional online survey of parents of primary and secondary school-age children.
settingCommunity setting.
participants1214 parents of school-age children in the UK.
methodsAn online survey explored the impact of lockdown on the mental health of parents with school-age children, and in particular about feelings of social isolation and loneliness. Associations between the UCLA Three-Item Loneliness Scale (UCLATILS), the Direct Measure of Loneliness (DMOL) and the characteristics of the study participants were assessed using ordinal logistic regression models.
main outcome measuresSelf-reported measures of social isolation and loneliness using UCLATILS and DMOL.
resultsHalf of respondents felt they lacked companionship, 45% had feelings of being left out, 58% felt isolated and 46% felt lonely during the first 100 days of lockdown. The factors that were associated with higher levels of loneliness on UCLATILS were female gender, parenting a child with special needs, lack of a dedicated space for distance learning, disruption of sleep patterns and low levels of physical activity during the lockdown. Factors associated with a higher DMOL were female gender, single parenting, parenting a child with special needs, unemployment, low physical activity, lack of a dedicated study space and disruption of sleep patterns during the lockdown.
conclusionsThe COVID-19 lockdown has increased feelings of social isolation and loneliness among parents of school-age children. The sustained adoption of two modifiable health-seeking lifestyle behaviours (increased levels of physical activity and the maintenance of good sleep hygiene practices) wmay help reduce feelings of social isolation and loneliness during lockdown.
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