코로나 세대(Covid-Generation) 아동의 발달 추적 연구(Ⅱ)

Abstract

This study aims to cumulatively build the second-year empirical dataset of a multi-cohort longitudinal investigation that follows children who experienced the COVID-19 pandemic from the prenatal period onward across five age groups over five years. By doing so, the study seeks to analyze the long-term and continued effects of the pandemic using accumulated longitudinal data and to identify developmental risks that emerged during this period in order to propose relevant support strategies. The research procedures and methods are as follows. First, the first-year study (2024) primarily provided descriptive statistics on environmental characteristics and developmental status by age among children of the “COVID generation.” Building on this, the second-year study conducted more in-depth analyses by age and by household characteristics. Second, survey items requiring continuity for developmental tracking were examined and revised; unnecessary items were removed to reduce respondent fatigue, while items relevant to first-grade elementary school children were added. Third, to supplement limitations of self-report surveys and to conduct a more multi-dimensional analysis of the pandemic’s effects, three additional data sources were incorporated: (1) Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, (2) clinical data from before, during, and after the pandemic, and (3) data on children receiving welfare services. Fourth, based on the results, policy implications and directions for future research were proposed. The main findings of the study are as follows. First, an in-depth analysis of the 2024 data revealed clear patterns in perceptions of children’s development depending on gender, age, type of institution attended, and participation in private education. Girls demonstrated higher perceived development in language, cognition, emotion, and sociality than boys, with the largest gaps observed in language and emotional development. Children from high-income households (monthly income ≥ 6.81 million KRW) showed the highest average developmental scores across all domains, while those from low-income households (≤ 3.07 million KRW) exhibited lower overall developmental levels and higher rates of parents reporting developmental concerns. Second, the general survey included 2,835 respondents. Dual-earner households comprised 60.9% of the sample, while single-earner households accounted for 39.1%. Household incomes were concentrated in the upper-middle and upper levels. Among participating children, boys accounted for 51.2% and girls for 48.8%. Participation was highest among children aged four and five. Overall, children displayed development within the normal range; however, differences emerged by income, caregiving environment, and region. Higher income correlated with higher language, cognitive, and emotional scores, and girls consistently showed higher developmental scores than boys. Third, results from the Bayley developmental assessment indicated that infants and toddlers generally maintained developmental levels at or above the average. Girls outperformed boys in cognition, language, daily living, and self-help skills, while no significant differences appeared by household type. Quantitative and qualitative analyses of clinical records from children undergoing play therapy before (2018–2019), during (2020–2021), and after COVID-19 (2023–2024) showed that children exhibited more complex internalizing and mixed behavioral problems during the pandemic. Although these issues persisted after the pandemic, their severity decreased. Children using welfare services generally showed development at peer levels, but a relatively higher proportion demonstrated below-average language development. Among school-age children, older elementary students presented more negative developmental patterns than younger students, and girls demonstrated somewhat more negative developmental outcomes than boys. The major implications drawn from these findings are as follows. First, children with greater difficulty in emotional regulation also showed challenges in executive functions such as inhibition, working memory, and planning/organization. This highlights the interaction between socio-emotional difficulties and cognitive regulation and indicates the need for tailored interventions that strengthen language and social development through integrated, multi-dimensional approaches targeting physical, cognitive, and emotional domains. Second, although children demonstrated adequate basic social interaction skills (e.g., following play rules, participating in role play), difficulties emerged in qualitative aspects of communication such as self-expression and attentive listening. For children with emotional regulation challenges, it is essential to develop and disseminate programs that sequentially strengthen emotional awareness, impulse control, working memory, and problem solving. Third, parental parenting styles during the pandemic shifted toward inconsistent discipline and high expectations or interference, trends that persisted even afterward. Parent education must therefore focus on supporting parents’ emotional regulation and empathetic parenting capacities, including emotional coaching, stress management, and maintaining consistency. Fourth, the study findings and existing literature raise concerns that children’s socio-emotional and cognitive regulatory difficulties following COVID-19 may not be short-term phenomena but rather delayed developmental trajectories. This underscores the need for a national big-data platform to longitudinally monitor and integrate children’s developmental outcomes. Fifth, reductions in funding for longitudinal research jeopardize continuity and data reliability. Because developmental gaps among pandemic- generation children are likely to remain as structural issues rather than temporary disruptions, stable support is essential for tracking developmental trajectories across age, region, and socioeconomic groups and for informing policy. Sixth, although children using welfare services generally fell within the normal developmental range, they showed relative difficulties in language and social-emotional areas. Given that post-pandemic decreases in home language interaction, economic disparities, and caregiving gaps may deepen imbalances in these domains, a separate long-term cohort should be established for sustained tracking.