ETSU study examines COVID's impact on early childhood

A student-led study at East Tennessee State University is looking for participants to examine how COVID-19 reshaped pregnancy and early childhood development. The study, led by psychology professor Dr. Wallace Dixon, focuses on families with children born just before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, comparing their experiences to better understand how stress, support systems and home environments influence early development. Dixon said what began as an honors thesis grew into a larger, collaborative project involving undergraduate and graduate researchers. "This was actually an undergraduate student's research idea," Dixon said. "Nat Vaughn wanted to study factors affecting child rearing and pregnancy during COVID." He said the team expanded the scope to include a wide range of variables tied to both parent and child well-being. Central to that expanded focus is the study of how traumatic events and positive support systems interact during a child's first years. Jessica Templeton, a graduate student in the program, said the project builds on existing research into adverse childhood experiences, often referred to as ACEs, as well as positive childhood experiences and how both can influence development over time. "The inspiration was really just our interest in these variables," she said. "Mine specifically because ACEs literature focuses on the screener as a risk indicator without taking into account these individual differences." Dixon, who previously served as the founding director of the ETSU Ballad Health Strong BRAIN Institute, said the work aligns with a broader effort to understand resilience and trauma-informed care. "We wrapped that idea into a much bigger project with a broader set of research questions," Dixon said. "We're looking at relationships between adverse childhood experiences and a range of other factors affecting pregnancy and early development." Because researchers cannot experimentally control a global pandemic, he said the team designed the study to approximate a comparison between two groups — those who experienced pregnancy during COVID-19 and those who did not. The study examines a wide range of influences, including household "chaos," parenting style, social support and caregiver mental health. Dixon said even the structure and stability of a home environment can have lasting developmental effects. "'Chaos' is often a predictor of child outcomes," he said. "We wanted to include that measure." Participants will also complete screening measures for depression and anxiety, as well as questions about their support systems and day-to-day experiences during pregnancy and early parenting during the pandemic. Dixon said the research also includes a cognitive component aimed at assessing children's development as they reach preschool age. By the time data collection and follow-up analysis are complete, he said many of the children will be around 4 to 6 years old. "We're interested in seeing if there are differences between the two groups that can't be explained by factors like income, age or race," Dixon said. While the team has not conducted research yet, Dixon said existing literature suggests that pandemic conditions likely increased stress levels and limited access to social support for many expectant parents. "COVID was difficult for many people and led to poor outcomes," Dixon said. "We want to understand what we can learn from that experience." Dixon said the findings could offer valuable insight if similar large-scale disruptions occur in the future. "If we face another pandemic, this research could help us understand what to expect," Dixon said. Participation in the study is fully anonymous, according to Dixon. Eligible parents and caregivers — those 18 or older, living in the United States and caring for a child born within the study window — are asked to complete an online survey that takes about 30 minutes. To encourage participation, respondents can choose to enter a drawing for one of several gift cards. Dixon said any contact information provided for the drawing is stored separately from survey responses to maintain anonymity. The research team is also working with ETSU's Applied Social Research Laboratory to minimize invalid or automated responses, a growing challenge in online data collection, according to Dixon. Dixon said the biggest obstacle remains reaching a wide and diverse pool of participants. "We're trying to get the survey in front of as many people as possible," Dixon said. "The wider we reach, the more representative the study will be." So far, much of the outreach has been concentrated in Northeast Tennessee, but the team hopes to expand participation to better reflect the diversity of experiences during the pandemic. For more information about the survey, please contact Dixon at dixonw@etsu.edu or call his office at (423) 439-6656.