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The Short- and Long-Term Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak in Individuals with Autism and Typically Developing

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Mental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2023) | Viewed by 7157

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Special Issue Editors

Dr. Annalisa Levante

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Guest Editor

1. Department of History, Society, and Human Studies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
2. Lab of Applied Psychology, Department of History, Society, and Human Studies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Interests: autism spectrum disorder; early screening of autism; early diagnosis of autism; developmental psychology; neurodevelopment disorder; use of technological devices to promote emotional competence in autism; theory of mind in typically and atypically developing children; use of the inclusive sport to improve motor and social skills in children with autism

Dr. Flavia Lecciso

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Guest Editor

1. Department of History, Society, and Human Studies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
2. Lab of Applied Psychology, Department of History, Society, and Human Studies, University of Salento, 73100 Lecce, Italy
Interests: autism spectrum disorder; early screening of autism; early diagnosis of autism; developmental psychology; neurodevelopment disorder; use of technological device to promote emotional competence in autism; theory of mind in typically and atypically developing children; use of the inclusive sport to improve motor and social skills in children with autism

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

You are cordially invited to contribute to this Special Issue of IJERPH, “The Short- and Long-Term Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak in Individuals with Autism and Typically Developing”.

Two years after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the current and persistent uncertainty related to this health emergency have resulted in increasingly detrimental outcomes. The short- and long-term psychological impact of this condition require further study, both in general and in vulnerable populations, i.e., individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

This Special Issue aims to report a set of cross-sectional or longitudinal studies, as well as literature reviews, case reports or protocols for intervention, and opinions detailing the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak on individuals with ASD and typically developing (TD) individuals of all age ranges. Authors are invited to submit cutting-edge studies on the short- and long-term impact of lockdown on ASD symptomatology, as well as on the functioning of TD individuals; the short- and long-term impact of the lockdown on family members (e.g., parents, a healthy sibling) with regard to managing an individual with ASD or TD children; caregiving and parental distress; change in time spent in social relationships and leisure activities; evaluation of the effectiveness of intervention carried out during the lockdown or original protocol; opinions that offer authoritative and challenging synthesis of the topic.

Dr. Annalisa Levante
Dr. Flavia Lecciso
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2500 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

COVID-19 outbreak
autism
typically developing
behavioral problems
psychological impact
parent–child relationship
parental pathology

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 405 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Parenting a Child with a Neurodevelopmental Disorder during the Early Stage of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Quantitative and Qualitative Cross-Cultural Findings

by Noemi Mazzoni, Arianna Bentenuto, Fabio Filosofi, Angela Tardivo, Lane Strathearn, Kasra Zarei, Simona De Falco, Paola Venuti, Giuseppe Iandolo and Michele Giannotti

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(1), 499; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010499 - 28 Dec 2022

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 2692

Abstract

Research during the COVID-19 pandemic has shown a strong relationship between child symptoms, parental stress, and mental health challenges. The pandemic has changed family routines, worsening child symptomatology and parental burden. The aim of this study was to investigate how the magnitude of the perceived changes in child externalizing behavior, parental stress, and discontinuity of therapy—from before to during the COVID-19 pandemic—affected parental mental health during the pandemic. Moreover, we sought to compare these aspects cross-culturally between European countries and the USA. To these purposes, we asked Italian, Spanish, and U.S. parents of children with neurodevelopmental disabilities (NDD) to complete an online survey. Quantitative results showed that increased parental stress may have contributed to a worsening in parental psychological distress, regardless of culture. Moreover, they suggested an indirect effect of child externalizing behaviors on parents’ psychological distress via parental stress. Qualitative analyses highlighted that the lack, or discontinuity, of therapeutic activities may have been one of the key contributors to parenting burden during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, qualitative results highlighted resilience factors that could have decreased the risk of psychological problems during the pandemic, such as a strong sense of parental efficacy and the ability to adapt to changing family dynamics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Short- and Long-Term Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak in Individuals with Autism and Typically Developing)

11 pages, 523 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Parental Support during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Friend or Foe? A Moderation Analysis of the Association between Maternal Anxiety and Children’s Stress in Italian Dyads

by Alessia Cadamuro, Elisa Bisagno, Elena Trifiletti, Gian Antonio Di Bernardo and Emilio Paolo Visintin

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(1), 268; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20010268 - 24 Dec 2022

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1560

Abstract

There is evidence that parental psychological disorders in stressful situations increase the risk of disturbance in child development. This has been investigated in disasters but not in pandemics, which are sensibly different from other types of traumatic events. We investigated the relationship between mothers’ anxiety and their children’s (self-reported) stress and the boundary conditions of this association during the first full COVID-19 lockdown in Italy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, mothers might have increased their protective attitudes to secure and support their children; we tested whether the relationship between mothers’ anxiety and children’s stress was weaker (buffer effect) or stronger (over-protection effect) when perceived parental support was high. We measured mothers’ anxiety, children’s perceived parental support, and children’s stress in a sample of 414 8- to 11-year-old primary school children (229 females, Mage = 9.44) and 395 mothers (Mage = 42.84). Results supported the over-protection scenario and provided the first evidence for the “helicopter-parent effect” during the COVID-19 pandemic: mothers’ anxiety was positively associated with children’s stress only when perceived support was high. Our finding highlights the importance of educating parents (for example, via emotional training) to prevent the worst consequences of adverse events in children and promote their mental health. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Short- and Long-Term Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak in Individuals with Autism and Typically Developing)

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12 pages, 1476 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Effect of Sleep–Wake Routines on the Negative Emotional States and Aggressive Behaviors in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) during the COVID-19 Outbreak

by Annalisa Levante, Serena Petrocchi, Costanza Colombi, Roberto Keller, Antonio Narzisi, Gabriele Masi and Flavia Lecciso

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022, 19(9), 4957; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19094957 - 19 Apr 2022

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2293

Abstract

Disruption in routine may be related to experiencing negative emotional states and to aggressive behaviors in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The lockdown because of COVID-19 contributed to the disruption of individuals’ routines, including the sleep–wake cycle. The current study tested a relationship between the adherence to the sleep–wake routine and aggressive behaviors via the mediation role of negative emotional states (i.e., anxiety and anger). Forty-three parents of adults with ASD completed a web-based questionnaire about their life condition during the first lockdown (April–May 2020). Preliminary analyses showed a worsening in the adults’ aggressive behaviors during the lockdown in comparison to before it (Z = −3.130; p = 0.002). In the mediation models, the relationship between the adherence to the sleep–wake routines and aggressive behaviors was significant. The models showed the hypothesized mediated relationships among the adherence to the sleep–wake routines, negative emotional states, and aggressive behaviors (Model 1: F _{(1, 41)} = 10.478, p < 0.001; Model 2: F_{(1, 41)} = 9.826, p = 0.003). The findings confirmed the potential protective role of the adherence to the sleep–wake routines for the emotional and behavioral adjustment of adults with autism. Theoretical and practical contributions of the study were discussed; indeed, our results may inform parent-coaching as well as intervention programs for individuals with ASD given that adequate sleep hygiene may contribute to improvements in internalizing/externalizing behaviors. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue The Short- and Long-Term Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Outbreak in Individuals with Autism and Typically Developing)

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