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Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has affected education at all levels in various ways. This paper provides a review of the literature on the challenges of online learning for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). Method: In total, 17 studies from nine countries were analysed. The challenges of online learning for children with SEND reported by teachers and parents and the strategies applied to overcome the challenges were identified. Results: The challenges of online learning were the need of parental support, routine change, inequities of resources and access to technology, lack of accommodations, and social isolation. There was a considerable lack of interventions aimed at promoting the educational outcomes of children with SEND. Conclusions: The findings emphasise the importance of parent-teacher collaboration and communication. Suggestions for strategies to address challenges as well as for further research are also discussed.

In Germany, as in many other European countries, vast changes in the welfare regime – towards workfare – have taken place. As a central activating element of workfare, sanctions were introduced to take effect by temporarily increasing deprivation through benefit cuts. This paper provides first quantitative insights on the effect of first sanctions on deprivation and contributes to the recent debate on the (un)constitutionality of sanctions, which re-emerged after a verdict of the Federal Constitutional Court, criticizing the lack of knowledge about the effects of sanctions on those affected. We implement a difference-in-differences propensity score matching approach that addresses selection on observables and individual time constant unobserved differences. High data accuracy is ensured by combining the "Panel Labour Market and Social Security" (PASS) with administrative data from the Federal Employment Agency. The results illustrate a slightly higher yet statistically insignificant level of deprivation for first-sanctioned unemployment/basic income recipients compared to non-sanctioned recipients. The results hint in the direction that higher levels of deprivation are not what activates the sanctioned beneficiaries to reintegrate into the labour market. We discuss whether the results imply a significant deviation from the socio-cultural subsistence minimum of sanctioned recipients and a failure of the welfare state. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residents of care homes across the globe are affected by the spread of SARS-CoV-2 as they have been identified as a high-risk group and because they experienced strict social isolation regulations during the first wave of the pandemic. Social isolation of older people with poor physical and mental health is strongly associated with mental health problems and decreased life expectancy. Other research has shown that older people managed to adapt to the changes brought about by the pandemic and have linked this to the concept of resilience. The aim of this research project was to investigate how this applied to residents in care home settings during the first phases of the contact ban in Germany from sociology, developmental psychology and environmental gerontology perspectives, and to gain in-depth understanding of residents' experiences. This paper draws on structured interview data collected from residents in two care homes during early June 2020 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. The findings show that their experiences were shaped by three factors: care home settings and the approach of staff to handling the contact ban; biographical sense of resilience; and a hierarchy of life issues. The findings highlight the importance of locally specific response mechanisms in care homes, agency and belonging of residents despite health-related limitations and the importance of a critical (gendered) lens on understanding their experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Refugees are perceived as a category of people that are 'vulnerable' per se. However, once they have arrived in (high-income) hosting countries and are supported by a welfare state, vulnerability needs to be rethought, as they face new challenges and potential sources of inequality. In this paper, we have measured vulnerability as the probability of experiencing jointly three interdependent risks: social isolation, financial worries and poor health. For this purpose, we estimated a trivariate logit model to evaluate how individual and household characteristics are associated with vulnerability and also made inferences regarding the residual association between pairs of risks, conditionally to a set of selected covariates. Using the 2016 wave of the IAB-BAMF-SOEP survey of refugees in Germany, we demonstrated the significant correlations between the risks experienced by refugees and assessed a 'propagation effect' that affects vulnerability when the three risks come together. Taking this result into account may be useful in preventing vulnerability among refugees when they are faced with even one of these risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trans and intersex individuals are often not considered in obstetric care—neither in practice nor in research. This quantitative study used an online survey to compare the experiences of pregnant trans men, non-binary individuals, and intersex people with those of endosex cisgender individuals who received care in obstetrics. Trans men and non-binary individuals reported discrimination during pregnancy and childbirth on the interactional, institutional, and structural level: for example, they reported more unsatisfactory encounters with health care personnel and more barriers in the structure of health care services and facilities. Trans and intersex individuals had less access to information relevant to them concerning pregnancy and birth compared to cisgender endosex individuals. Although it happened less frequently, cisgender endosex individuals also reported negative experiences, such as discrimination or violence during birth in a hospital. Our findings indicate a need for change concerning several aspects of the obstetric care spectrum—especially, but not exclusively, for trans, non-binary, and intersex people. Some suggestions for improvement include the following: On the hospital level, measures should be implemented to reduce structural discrimination and to ascertain one-on-one care during active labor. Inclusive information material should be developed and disseminated and health care institutions should raise awareness among their staff regarding care for their LGBTIQ patients. More studies on obstetric issues concerning queer, trans, and especially intersex people should be conducted and diversity and inclusion should be implemented as core topics in the training curricula for midwives, physicians, and nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: In a quasi-naturalistic study design, we evaluate the change in psychopathological syndromes and general well-being after the alleviation of social restrictions. The aim of this study was to investigate the specific relationship between social isolation and depressive syndromes. Methods: At two timepoints, the first during maximal social restrictions, the second after social restrictions had widely ended for 9 months, depressive and other syndromes were measured in an online survey addressing the total cohort of students registered at Heidelberg University, Germany via e-mail (n = 27,162). The complete Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ) was used with nine items for depressive syndromes. In addition, well-being was measured by the Well-Being Index WHO-5. In the quantitative and qualitative part of the study psychopathological syndromes and well-being were related to social isolation and feelings of loneliness. Results: After 1.5years of pandemic-related social restrictions, "major" depressive syndromes were reported by 40.16% of the respondents to the PHQ in a sample of 2,318 university students. 72.52% showed a severely reduced Well-Being-Index. Nine months after the end of social restrictions, "major" depressive syndromes were reported by 28.50% of the participants. Well-being improved after the alleviation of social restrictions, as well: 53.96% showed a Well-Being Index of below 50 vs. 72.52% in the first study. The quantitative and qualitative analysis of the free texts of the respondents suggest that a significant amount of depressive syndromes and reduced well-being are related to social isolation and loneliness. While in the times of the pandemic restrictions the participants mostly reported "loneliness and social isolation" (24.2%) as their main problem, only 7.7% described these as their main problem after social restrictions had been loosened for 9months. The qualitative analysis hints that at t2 participants were more likely to mention possible ways to actively deal with loneliness than at t1, which might be interpreted along the lines of the decrease in depressive syndromes. Discussion: Keeping the self-selection bias in mind our study results suggest that one third of "major" depressive syndromes and one quarter of severely reduced well-being accompany social restrictions or are even caused by them, with loneliness being an important factor. These results should be taken into account by health policies when coping with future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous studies reported negative effects of financial deprivation on child development during early childhood. As already shown, child development, in particular language development, is associated with family background, e.g., educational level. However, less is known about the impact of (restricted) financial resources on early language skills. Therefore, the present study investigates whether family income, measured as a metric variable by net equivalence income, and poverty, operationalized as income groups based on official income thresholds, impact vocabulary and grammar skills of 2-year-old children even when taking the educational level of the mother as well as aspects of the home-learning environment (joint picture book reading) and other relevant variables into account. Drawing on a German sample of N = 1782, we found that especially poverty is significantly associated with early language skills over and above maternal education and joint picture book reading. Hence, our results indicate the relevance to consider the effect of (restricted) financial resources and especially poverty on child development during early childhood additionally to other indicators of social background. Highlights: Children that experienced poverty during the first year show comparatively lower early language skills even when maternal education and joint picture book reading are considered. Using income groups defined by official income thresholds allow to more directly analyse the impact of poverty on children. Especially poverty is found to affect child development even in a rich country with a strong social system such as Germany. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To examine the relationship between regional socioeconomic deprivation and adherence to the 24-h movement guidelines among children and adolescents, a cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 17,433 students aged 9–17 participated in a survey in winter 2021/2022. Daily screen time (ST), moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), and sleep behavior were outcome variables. The German Index of Socioeconomic Deprivation (GISD), a regional socioeconomic objective measure, was the exposure variable. Associations between GISD and health behaviors were examined using regression models. Models were adjusted for age, gender, school type, and individual self-reported socioeconomic status (SES). The proportions of meeting the MVPA, ST, and sleep duration guidelines were 14%, 22%, and 34%, respectively. A total of 2.3% met all guidelines. Students from the most deprived communities were half as likely to meet all three guidelines compared to students from the most affluent regions (OR = 0.49 [0.28; −0.03], p = 0.010). There was a consistent relationship between GISD and lower levels of adherence to screen time guidelines (most deprived compared to most affluent: OR = 0.49 [0.38; 0.64], p < 0.001). There was no association between GISD and adherence to sleep time guidelines. We found mixed results for the association between GISD and MVPA. Regional SES appears to be an important factor associated with screen time. Screen time should be limited through intervention programs, especially in disadvantaged areas. Parents should be made aware of their children's increased media consumption. Recommendations for screen time should be clearly communicated, as should the health disadvantages of increased media consumption in childhood and adolescence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mental healthcare users and patients were described as a particularly vulnerable group in the debate on the burdens of the COVID-19 pandemic. Just what this means and what normative conclusions can be derived from it depend to a large extent on the underlying concept of vulnerability. While a traditional understanding locates vulnerability in the characteristics of social groups, a situational and dynamic approach considers how social structures produce vulnerable social positions. The situation of users and patients in different psychosocial settings during the COVID-19 pandemic has not yet been comprehensively considered and ethically analyzed under the aspect of situational vulnerability. Methods: We present the results of a retrospective qualitative analysis of a survey of ethical challenges in different mental healthcare facilities of a large regional mental healthcare provider in Germany. We evaluate them ethically using a dynamic and situational understanding of vulnerability. Results: Difficulties in implementing infection prevention measures, restrictions of mental health services in favor of infection prevention, social isolation, negative health effects on mental healthcare users and patients, and challenges in implementing regulations on state and provider levels within the local specificities emerged across different mental healthcare settings as ethically salient topics. Conclusions: Applying a situational and dynamic understanding of vulnerability allows the identification of specific factors and conditions that have contributed to an increased context-dependent vulnerability for mental healthcare users and patients. These factors and conditions should be considered on the level of state and local regulations to reduce and address vulnerability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Feelings of loneliness and the burden of social isolation were among the most striking consequences of widespread containment measures, such as "social distancing", during the COVID-19 pandemic. Because of the potential impact on people's health, there has been increased interest in understanding the mechanisms and factors that contributed to feelings of loneliness and the burdens of social isolation. However, in this context, genetic predisposition has been largely ignored as an important factor. This is problematic because some of the phenotypic associations observed to date may in fact be genetic. The aim of this study is, therefore, to examine the genetic and environmental contributions to the burden of social isolation at two time points during the pandemic. In addition, we examine whether risk factors identified in previous studies explain genetic or environmental contributions to the burden of social isolation. Methods: The present study is based on a genetically sensitive design using data from the TwinLife panel study, which surveyed a large sample of adolescent and young adult twins during the first (N = 798) and the second (N = 2520) lockdown in Germany. Results: We find no substantive differences in genetic and environmental contributions to social isolation burden over the course of the pandemic. However, we find the determinants highlighted as important in previous studies can explain only a small proportion of the observed variance in the burden of social isolation and mainly explained genetic contributions. Conclusions: While some of the observed associations appear to be genetic, our findings underscore the need for further research, as the causes of individual differences in burden of social isolation remain unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Covid-19 pandemic led to increased work-related strain and psychosocial burden in nurses worldwide, resulting in high prevalences of mental health problems. Nurses in long-term care facilities seem to be especially affected by the pandemic. Nevertheless, there are few findings indicating possible positive changes for health care workers. Therefore, we investigated which psychosocial burdens and potential positive aspects nurses working in long-term care facilities experience during the Covid-19 pandemic. Methods: We conducted a mixed-methods study among nurses and nursing assistants working in nursing homes in Germany. The survey contained the third German version of the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire (COPSOQ III). Using Welch’s t-tests, we compared the COPSOQ results of our sample against a pre-pandemic reference group of geriatric nurses from Germany. Additionally, we conducted semi-structured interviews with geriatric nurses with a special focus on psychosocial stress, to reach a deeper understanding of their experiences on work-related changes and burdens during the pandemic. Data were analysed using thematic coding (Braun and Clarke). Results: Our survey sample (n = 177) differed significantly from the pre-pandemic reference group in 14 out of 31 COPSOQ scales. Almost all of these differences indicated negative changes. Our sample scored significantly worse regarding the scales ‘quantitative demands’, ‘hiding emotions’, ‘work-privacy conflicts’, ‘role conflicts’, ‘quality of leadership’, ‘support at work’, ‘recognition’, ‘physical demands’, ‘intention to leave profession’, ‘burnout’, ‘presenteeism’ and ‘inability to relax’. The interviews (n = 15) revealed six main themes related to nurses’ psychosocial stress: ‘overall working conditions’, ‘concern for residents’, ‘management of relatives’, ‘inability to provide terminal care‘, ‘tensions between being infected and infecting others’ and ‘technicisation of care’. ‘Enhanced community cohesion’ (interviews), ‘meaning of work’ and ‘quantity of social relations’ (COPSOQ III) were identified as positive effects of the pandemic. Conclusions: Results clearly illustrate an aggravation of geriatric nurses’ situation and psychosocial burden and only few positive changes due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Pre-existing hardships seem to have further deteriorated and new stressors added to nurses’ strain. The perceived erosion of care, due to an overemphasis of the technical in relation to the social and emotional dimensions of care, seems to be especially burdensome to geriatric nurses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Loneliness and social isolation have become increasing concerns during COVID-19 lockdown through neuroendocrine stress-reactions, physical and mental health problems. We investigated living situation, relationship status and quality as potential moderators for trait and state loneliness and salivary cortisol levels (hormonal stress-responses) in healthy adults during the first lockdown in Germany. N = 1242 participants (mean age = 36.32, 78% female) filled out an online questionnaire on demographics, trait loneliness and relationship quality. Next, N = 247 (mean age = 32.6, 70% female) completed ecological momentary assessment (EMA), collecting twelve saliva samples on 2 days and simultaneously reporting their momentary loneliness levels. Divorced/widowed showed highest trait loneliness, followed by singles and partnerships. The latter displayed lower momentary loneliness and cortisol levels compared to singles. Relationship satisfaction significantly reduced loneliness levels in participants with a partner and those who were living apart from their partner reported loneliness levels similar to singles living alone. Living alone was associated with higher loneliness levels. Hierarchical linear models revealed a significant cross-level interaction between relationship status and momentary loneliness in predicting cortisol. The results imply that widowhood, being single, living alone and low relationship quality represent risk factors for loneliness and having a partner buffers neuroendocrine stress responses during lockdown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fear of crime among older people has been a frequent topic in ageing research, criminology and urban studies. The 'environmental docility hypothesis' assumes that older people are more vulnerable to adverse neighbourhood conditions than younger age groups. Yet, few studies have tested this influential hypothesis using samples of respondents covering the complete adult lifespan. Looking at fear of crime, we investigated the person–environment interaction of age and neighbourhood disadvantage, using two independent surveys comprising 12,620 respondents aged 25–90 years residing in 435 neighbourhoods in four cities in Germany and Australia. We used multi-level analysis and cross-level interactions to model age-differential effects of neighbourhood disadvantage on fear. Contrary to the hypothesis, we found a weakening of neighbourhood effects on fear with age. The strong effect of neighbourhood disadvantage on fear of crime dropped by around half from the youngest (25 years) to the oldest age (90 years) in both countries. Younger people were almost as fearful as older people in the most disadvantaged neighbourhoods, but older people were considerably more fearful than younger ages in better-off neighbourhoods. We found limited empirical support for the assumption that this diminished association between neighbourhood disadvantage and fear can be explained by the stronger neighbourhood attachment of older people. The limitations of the analysis and potential future directions of research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several COVID-19 studies on the felt passage of time have been conducted due to the strong feeling of time distortion many people have experienced during the pandemic. Overall, a relative decelaration of time passage was generally associated with negative affect and social isolation; a relative acceleration was associated with an increase in routine in daily life. There is some variability in results depending on the country of study and COVID-19 restrictions introduced, participants' demographics, and questionnaire items applied. Here we present a study conducted in May 2021 in Germany including n = 500 participants to assess time perception, emotional reactions, and attitudes towards the countermeasures. The passage of time judgments (POTJ) for the preceding 12 months during the pandemic were compared to data addressing the same question posed in previous studies conducted before the outbreak of COVID-19. The previous year was rated as having passed relatively slower during the pandemic compared to the ratings from before the pandemic. The duration judgments (DJ) of the 14 months since the start of the pandemic showed a bimodal distribution with both relatively shorter and relatively longer DJs. Higher levels of several negative emotions, as well as less social satisfaction, were associated with prolonged DJs and partially slower POTJs. Fear for health was not linked with the subjective experience of time, but exploratory analyses suggested that higher levels of fear were linked to more positive evaluations and approval of the governmental countermeasures. Those who reported higher levels of negative, agitated-aggressive emotions showed lower levels of consent with these measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to examine parental experiences of homeschooling during the COVID-19 pandemic in families with or without a child with a mental health condition across Europe. The study included 6720 parents recruited through schools, patient organizations and social media platforms (2002 parents with a child with a mental health condition and 4718 without) from seven European countries: the UK (n = 508), Sweden (n = 1436), Spain (n = 1491), Belgium (n = 508), the Netherlands (n = 324), Germany (n = 1662) and Italy (n = 794). Many parents reported negative effects of homeschooling for themselves and their child, and many found homeschooling to be of poor quality, with insufficient support from schools. In most countries, contact with teachers was limited, leaving parents with primary responsibility for managing homeschooling. Parents also reported increased levels of stress, worry, social isolation, and domestic conflict. A small number of parents reported increased parental alcohol/drug use. Some differences were found between countries and some negative experiences were more common in families with a child with a mental health condition. However, differences between countries and between families with and without a mental health condition were generally small, indicating that many parents across countries reported negative experiences. Some parents also reported positive experiences of homeschooling. The adverse effects of homeschooling will likely have a long-term impact and contribute to increased inequalities. Given that school closures may be less effective than other interventions, policymakers need to carefully consider the negative consequences of homeschooling during additional waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this longitudinal study was to examine whether the onset and the end of obesity was associated with loneliness. Nationally representative longitudinal data from Germany were taken from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (wave 5 to wave 7; n = 10,446 observations in the analytical sample). Using the three item loneliness scale (UCLA), loneliness was measured. According to the WHO thresholds, obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 30 kg/m2. Asymmetric fixed effects (FE) regressions were used. Conventional FE regression analysis revealed that changes in obesity status were associated with changes in loneliness (men: β = −.19, p <.05; women: β =.19, p <.05). Asymmetric FE regressions showed that in men the onset of obesity was associated with a decrease in loneliness (β = –.31, p <.05), whereas the end of obesity was not associated with loneliness. Asymmetric FE regressions showed that in women, the onset of obesity was associated with an increase in loneliness (β =.33, p <.01), whereas the end of obesity was not associated with loneliness. Findings showed that the onset of obesity has different consequences in terms of loneliness for older women and men in Germany, whereas the end of obesity was not associated with changes in loneliness scores. We recommend that future studies should distinguish between the onset and the end of obesity – which comes along with important practical implications. When older women report transitions to obesity, efforts to prevent loneliness may be of importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]