ArticleEpidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.)2026
Effect of School Reopenings on Children's Mental Health During COVID-19: Quasi-experimental Evidence from California.
Article in Epidemiology (Cambridge, Mass.), 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Pandemic-era increases in late-stage pediatric cancer diagnoses, 2020-2022.JNCI cancer spectrum · 2026Article
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundSchool closures during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic disrupted children's education, socialization, and access to mental health resources, raising concerns about long-term effects on childrens' mental health. The objective was to evaluate the impacts of pandemic-era school reopenings on children's mental health and healthcare expenditures. Variation in the timing of school reopenings created a unique quasi-experiment.
methodsWe used difference-in-differences analysis to examine how staggered implementation of school reopenings affected diagnoses with depression, anxiety, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, and related healthcare spending among school-aged children during March 2020-June 2021 across 24 California counties. Data were drawn from medical claims from the second largest private health insurer in the state (N = 185,735).
resultsSchool reopening was associated with a 1.2%-point drop in monthly prevalence of mental health diagnoses [95% confidence interval (CI) = -1.59, -0.74], and a 10.6% (95% CI = -13.4%, -7.8%) drop in related healthcare spending. The mental health conditions that saw the largest differential between in-person and remote school districts were anxiety and depression. Effects were strongest among girls.
conclusionsIn-person learning is an important component of children's mental health. These results are informative for future policymaking during public health crises, to balance infection risk with the need for socialization and other critical resources that schools provide to children.
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