The Effects of Quarantine (Covid-19) on Psychosocial Adjustment of 5th and 6th Graders

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effects of quarantine on the psychosocial adjustment of 5th and 6th graders who were educated in public schools in Greece. Participants were 58 students recruited from 3 elementary schools of Attika, Greece. They were educated using distance online learning means, synchronous (n=20) and asynchronous (n=38). Students' psychosocial adjustment levels were assessed one week prior to the commencement of quarantine and the week following in person schooling (period between March and June of 2020) using a standardized and normed measure for the Greek population, namely the Socioemotional Adjustment scale (Hatzichristou et al., 2008). The instrument engages 115 items to assess the following subdomains: social efficacy, emotional efficacy, school efficacy, self-esteem, and problem behavior. Results indicated that for the total sample, among psychosocial domains, school efficacy scores significantly decreased at posttest. Differences between groups, synchronous and asynchronous at posttest were revealed in social efficacy, school efficacy, and self-esteem favoring the asynchronous group. Findings highlight the vital need for enhanced teacher training on distance learning practice.