This study examined the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on cognitive and academic functioning in 574 youth presenting for outpatient clinical neuropsychiatric evaluations. We extended the prior literature by (a) determining the extent to which academic difficulties documented in population and community samples also occurred in child psychiatric outpatients; (b) evaluating the impact of the pandemic on neuropsychological functions relevant to academic performance (overall cognition, executive functions, and graphomotor skill); and (c) investigating the moderating impact of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis. We compared cross-sectional scores on standardized measures for groups of youth evaluated at three time periods related to the COVID-19 pandemic: (a) prior to onset (PRIOR; N = 198), (b) during Year 1 (Y1; N = 149), and (c) during Year 2 (Y2; N = 227). Relative to overall cognitive ability, math scores were lower in Y1 and Y2 and reading scores were lower in Y2. Additionally, relative to overall cognitive ability, youth showed lower working memory in Y1 and lower processing speed in Y1 and Y2. Graphomotor skill and parent-rated executive functions (EF) did not vary significantly across the three time periods. ADHD status did not moderate psychometric test scores but did moderate parent-rated EF. These data suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted academic and executive functions in child psychiatry outpatients. More research is needed to understand the long-term implications for development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行期间儿童精神科门诊患者认知和学业表现的差异。

本研究调查了 COVID-19 大流行对 574 名接受门诊临床神经精神评估的青少年的认知和学业功能的影响。我们通过以下方式扩展了先前的文献：（a）确定人口和社区样本中记录的学业困难在儿童精神科门诊患者中也发生的程度；(b) 评估大流行对与学业成绩相关的神经心理功能（整体认知、执行功能和书写运动技能）的影响；(c) 调查注意力缺陷多动障碍 (ADHD) 诊断的调节作用。我们比较了在与 COVID-19 大流行相关的三个时间段评估的青少年群体标准化指标的横断面得分：(a) 发病前（之前；N = 198），(b) 第一年期间（Y1；N） = 149)，(c) 第 2 年（Y2；N = 227）。相对于整体认知能力，第一学年和第二学年的数学成绩较低，第二学年的阅读成绩较低。此外，相对于整体认知能力，青少年在第一年表现出较低的工作记忆，在第一年和第二年表现出较低的处理速度。书写运动技能和家长评价的执行功能（EF）在三个时间段内没有显着变化。ADHD 状态不会调节心理测试分数，但会调节家长评定的 EF。这些数据表明，COVID-19 大流行对儿童精神病学门诊患者的学业和执行功能产生了负面影响。需要更多的研究来了解对发展的长期影响。（PsycInfo 数据库记录 (c) 2023 APA，保留所有权利）。