Overview
- The peer-reviewed research, led by the University of East Anglia with Lancaster and Durham, is published in Child Development.
- The largest and most sustained effects were seen in children who were in reception when the first lockdown began, with slower gains in self-regulation and cognitive flexibility over subsequent years.
- The study tracked 139 Norwich-area children, including 94 assessed before the pandemic, using the Minnesota Executive Function Scale at multiple time points.
- Individual differences remained stable and children from lower socio-economic households consistently scored lower across the study period.
- The authors urge additional support from schools and health services for affected children and note more frequent Covid infections in the reception cohort as a possible contributor requiring further study, with the regional sample limiting generalisability.