Page 44 - JCBP-2-4

Journal of Clinical and

Basic Psychosomatics

ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE
Online complementary interventions for the

development of social communication in
children during the early stage of the COVID-19

pandemic

1,2
1,2
Fusako Tomoto , Makoto Ota , Tomofusa Akita , Masanori Hariyama 3 , and
1
Mamiko Koshiba 1,2,3,4 *
1 Division of Systems and Design Engineering, Graduate School of Sciences and Technology for
Innovation, Yamaguchi University, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan
2 Department of Academic Research, Association of Children’s Environment, Minato, Tokyo, Japan
3 Department of Computer and Mathematical Sciences, Graduate School of Information Sciences,
Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi, Japan
4 Department of Pediatrics, Saitama Medical University, Irumagun, Saitama, Japan

Abstract

For elementary school children, engaging in diverse communication experiences with
peers of varying ages during free play is crucial for developing social adaptability.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic caused an unprecedented interruption to this
learning process, as the new school year in Japan, which typically starts in April, began
*Corresponding author: with widespread school closures. A novel intervention was implemented to address
Mamiko Koshiba the ongoing societal constraints of the “stay-at-home” mandate and the uncertainty
(koshiba@yamaguchi-u.ac.jp) surrounding its duration. This intervention aimed to facilitate and promote peer
Citation: Tomoto F, Ota M, Akita communication while minimizing the risk of COVID-19 infection. It utilized then-
T, Hariyama M, Koshiba M. Online unfamiliar Internet-based conferencing systems on Children’s Day, 1 month into the
complementary interventions
for the development of social new school year. We explored two main analytical aspects to enhance the efficacy of
communication in children during this communication method: first, the types of play proposed by children that attracted
the early stage of the COVID-19 the highest participation from unfamiliar peers; second, the duration of participation
pandemic. J Clin Basic Psychosom. and communication, particularly regarding age and gender differences. Remarkably,
2024;2(4):4221.
doi: 10.36922/jcbp.4221 despite only 2 days’ notice, 15 children aged 4 – 14 from five different, previously
unknown communities located 1,000 km apart participated enthusiastically. In the first
Received: July 12, 2024
investigation, 12 types of play were introduced by the children. The most engaging
Accepted: August 6, 2024 activities included collaborative drawing on a shared online whiteboard and a
Published Online: October 17, 2024 scavenger hunt for specified objects. Notably, older children participated significantly
longer in the online presenter’s activities, while younger children preferred to play
Copyright: © 2024 Author(s).
This is an Open-Access article within their own community. This study proposes that online conferencing can facilitate
distributed under the terms of the social interaction among children during pandemics. The intervention successfully
Creative Commons Attribution fostered collaborative play among children of varying ages and from distant locations.
License, permitting distribution,
and reproduction in any medium, In addition, the findings indicate the necessity to adjust the quality and focus of
provided the original work is interventions based on age-specific psychological development. Further verification
properly cited. with more implementation examples and a larger participant pool is required.
Publisher’s Note: AccScience
Publishing remains neutral with
regard to jurisdictional claims in Keywords: Online video conferencing; Play suggestion and participation; Intercultural
published maps and institutional communication; Playground; Social learning
affiliations.

Volume 2 Issue 4 (2024) 1 doi: 10.36922/jcbp.4221