Exposure to COVID-19 Disruptions Moderates the Effect of Temperament on Anxiety in Preschool-Age Children

Background

Both child temperament (specifically high shyness and fear) and environmental stressors like the COVID-19 pandemic are known to confer risk for elevated anxiety symptoms in children. However, few studies have examined the long-term impact of the pandemic on young children’s anxiety.

Objective

We examined the moderating effects of disruptions experienced during the early months of the pandemic on the longitudinal association between shy and fearful temperament at age 2 pre-pandemic and anxiety symptoms in the year following the start of the pandemic.

Methods

Participants were 125 parents of toddlers (M_age = 26 months, 54% girls, 80% White) who were participating in an ongoing anxiety screening study when the pandemic started in 2020. Shy and fearful temperament were assessed pre-pandemic at age 2 years using the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire and anxiety symptoms were assessed within the first post-pandemic year (at ages 3 or 4) using the Spence Preschool Anxiety Scale. Parents completed the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory at the start of the pandemic to assess types of disruptions experienced.

Results

Shyness predicted higher anxiety symptoms among children whose parents experienced more work-related disruptions. Fear was associated with higher anxiety symptoms at lower levels of social activities disruption but was unrelated to anxiety symptoms at high levels of these disruptions.

Conclusions

Results suggest that anxious temperament may serve as a meaningful screening target for identifying the children most in need of support during times of major stress.