COVID Lockdown Births Linked to Lower Executive Function at Age 4: Study
UK: Researchers have found in an observational study of more than 200 children born during England's COVID-19 lockdown that 4-year-olds had lower executive function than expected based on pre-pandemic norms. Language outcomes were mixed, with better receptive language but poorer expressive language. Encouragingly, other developmental measures—including non-verbal reasoning and expressive and receptive vocabulary—were better than pre-pandemic averages, suggesting that the pandemic's developmental impact may vary across different cognitive domains.
The findings, published in the Archives of Disease in Childhood, come from the Born In COVID Year – Core Lockdown Effects (BICYCLE) study led by Nicola Botting from the School of Health and Medical Sciences, City St George's University of London, UK, and colleagues. The researchers investigated whether children born during England's first COVID-19 lockdown experienced differences in language, executive function, motor skills, and cognitive development after growing up with markedly reduced social interaction during infancy.
The observational cross-sectional study assessed 205 children born during the first national lockdown using standardized developmental tests and caregiver questionnaires. Outcomes included expressive and receptive language, expressive and receptive vocabulary, executive function, motor skills, and non-verbal reasoning. Results were compared with established pre-pandemic norms and with participants' non-verbal reasoning scores to determine whether specific developmental domains matched their overall cognitive potential.
The study found that expressive vocabulary, receptive vocabulary, sentence structure, and non-verbal reasoning were significantly higher than expected for age compared with pre-pandemic norms. In contrast, caregiver-reported executive function scores, including the Global Executive Composite (GEC) and Emergent Metacognition Index (EMI), were significantly lower than expected. Word structure and motor skills did not differ significantly from normative values.
Key findings include:
- Sentence structure, expressive vocabulary, receptive vocabulary, and non-verbal reasoning exceeded pre-pandemic normative expectations.
- Executive function showed the greatest area of concern, with significantly lower GEC and EMI scores than expected.
- Word structure and motor skills were comparable to pre-pandemic norms.
- When compared with children's non-verbal reasoning ability, expressive language, executive function, and motor skills were lower than expected for their cognitive potential.
- Sentence structure and receptive vocabulary remained consistent with children's overall cognitive ability.
The researchers noted that although overall cognitive development appeared largely preserved, deficits in executive function and expressive language may pose challenges as children enter school, particularly in attention, self-regulation, planning, and learning. They emphasized that these preliminary findings require long-term follow-up to determine whether the observed differences persist.
The authors concluded that executive function was the most affected developmental domain in children born during England's first COVID-19 lockdown, while language and motor skills generally met or exceeded age expectations. They suggested that schools should prioritize support for behavioral regulation, executive function, and expressive language, and called for further research to inform interventions for children whose early development was shaped by pandemic-related social restrictions.
Reference:
Botting N, Del Rosario C, Flynn J, et alDevelopmental outcomes in 4-year-old children born in the first COVID-19 lockdown in England: preliminary findings from the Born In COVID Year – Core Lockdown Effects (BICYCLE) studyArchives of Disease in Childhood Published Online First: 14 July 2026. doi: 10.1136/archdischild-2025-329529
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