How did pandemic isolation affect children’s emotional lives in a small study?

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The study aimed to investigate how social isolation affects children’s emotional development, with a view to devising effective interventions. Its theoretical framework links children’s emotional development closely to their relationship with a caregiver, a role mostly performed by the maternal figure. It describes social isolation as a context in which family interaction and emotional instability increase, alongside high levels of anxiety, insecurity and fear.

Four children aged 7 and 8—two boys and two girls—participated in this clinical-qualitative study. A questionnaire was given to the mother to gather information about the child’s development, and the children were shown a work of art and asked to tell a story based on it. Data collection took place online. Each meeting was transcribed as Transferential Narratives and analyzed using the psychoanalytic method of free inspection of the material.

The researchers reported childhood anxieties linked to changes in routine and idleness, as well as constant alertness and fear affecting creative expression and social interaction. Themes of survival, aggressiveness and orality emerged, revealing emotional needs that were not sufficiently met. They concluded that pandemic-related social isolation intensified existing difficulties in family dynamics and added new sources of distress harmful to children’s emotional maturation.

The research highlights that intense family interaction does not always benefit children, especially when parental figures also need care. It points to the importance of considering effective interventions for the mother-child dyad as part of broader efforts for children’s mental health.