Children born during a pandemic have lower IQs: research

A study from the United States suggests that children born during the COVID-19 pandemic have significantly lower verbal, motor, and general cognitive abilities compared to children born earlier. Writes about it The Guardian.

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The first few years of a child's life are critical to their cognitive development. But with COVID-19, which prompted the closure of businesses, kindergartens, schools and playgrounds, babies' lives have changed dramatically, with parents experiencing stress and strain trying to balance work and childcare.

With limited stimulation at home and less interaction with the outside world, pandemic-era children appear to have shockingly low scores on tests designed to assess cognitive development, according to study lead author Sean Deoney, assistant professor of pediatric research at Brown University.

In the decade leading up to the pandemic, the average IQ on standardized tests for babies between three months and three years old hovered around 100, but for babies born during the pandemic, that number has dropped to 78, according to analysis.

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“This is not something we typically see unless there is severe cognitive impairment,” Deoni said.

The study included 672 children from Rhode Island. Of these: 188 were born after July 2020, 308 before January 2019, and 176 between January 2019 and March 2020. The children included in the study were born full-term, had no developmental disabilities, and were predominantly white.

The researchers found that people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds performed worse on tests.

According to Deoni, the main reason for the drop in indicators is probably the lack of stimulation and interaction at home: "The parents were stressed and exhausted, the usual communication with the child significantly decreased."

It is unclear whether these lower cognitive outcomes will have a long-term impact. According to Deoni, in the first few years of life, the foundation for cognition is laid in the same way as when building a house - having a strong and extensive foundation makes it easier to add rooms or decor: “The ability to adjust something decreases as the child gets older.”

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“Given that these data come from a relatively affluent part of the US, where social support and unemployment benefits are quite large, there are concerns that things may be worse in poorer parts of the country and the world,” he added.

Sir Terence Stephenson, a Nuffield professor of child health at University College London, said the study was interesting.

The key factor behind these low rates in infants, he said, was likely stress for parents, who faced challenges both at work and in providing adequate childcare for full-time work.

“It is perhaps not surprising that children from families with lower socioeconomic status have been hit hardest, as this echoes many of the other financial, labor and health impacts of the pandemic,” the professor concludes.

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