Children’s and adolescents’ reports on their quality of life during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

COVID-19 has had a significant impact on human life, yet very limited studies have investigated the quality of life (QoL) of children and adolescents during the pandemic. This paper aims to present the reports of children and adolescents (N = 1,474; 10–18 years old) on their QoL during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia. Data were collected using Google Forms and convenience sampling. The instruments measured the five domains of QoL: material, physical, social, emotional, and productive well-being. The data were analyzed descriptively using mean scores, crosstab, frequency, and ANOVA. The results show that the children and adolescents maintained their level of subjective well-being (SWB) and adapted to adverse situations during the lockdown. Boys and younger children displayed significantly higher mean scores than girls and older children. Children and adolescents reported boredom due to a lack of various physical activities, dissatisfaction with school closures, the things they learned at home, and their contact with friends. This study has implications in terms of providing advice to parents, teachers, children, and adolescents for promoting the QoL of children and adolescents during the pandemic.