Young Children’s Social and Emotional Adjustment and Caregiver Stress During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted education for all children, particularly for children with disabilities. Many preschools closed, offered distance learning or nothing at all, or operated in a hybrid format. We examined the impact of enrollment on young children’s social and emotional adjustment for children with and without disabilities, as well as caregiver stress during the pandemic as reported by 229 caregivers of 3 to 5 year old children. Respondents were predominantly White (n = 175) and female with high levels of education and income. In addition, 94% of caregivers were biological/parental caregivers. Children enrolled in preschool and who experienced in-person instruction received more favorable ratings of their social and emotional skills compared to those who were not enrolled or did not receive in-person instruction. However, the benefit of being enrolled and receiving in-person instruction disappeared when children had a stressed caregiver. Of note, children with disabilities had significantly higher ASQ scores than those without disabilities and caregivers with children with disabilities had a higher PSI score. Further research is needed to understand mitigation efforts employed by families and the unique experiences of culturally, linguistically, and racially/ethnically diverse children and their families.