Emotional coping strategies in children with and without special educational needs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia

Journal Article

2025

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted children's daily lives, especially those of children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND). This study aimed to compare the coping strategies of children with SEND to those of typically developing (TD) peers, as reported by their parents, and to identify the factors associated with coping efficacy early during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methodology: We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional survey between May and July 2020 using the Arabic translation of a global project's survey. Participants were recruited from all regions of Saudi Arabia through text messages sent to beneficiaries of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, the Autism Center of Excellence, and the Authority for Persons with Disabilities. Parents of 548 pairs of SEND and TD children, matched by age (±3 years), completed the survey and were included in the analysis. Coping strategies were analyzed and grouped into adaptive and maladaptive factors.

Results: TD children and children with SEND were aged, on average, 9.12 ± 3.95 years and 9.36 ± 4.02 years, respectively. TD children were reported to use both adaptive and maladaptive coping strategies more frequently than their peers with SEND (p ≤ 0.001). Parents also reported TD children as having higher coping efficacy (p < 0.001) for all reported coping strategies. Multiple factors were associated with higher odds of adaptive coping, including higher parental educational level, children's anxiety levels at the start of the pandemic, and their awareness of COVID-19. These factors were similarly associated with higher maladaptive coping and coping efficacy.

Conclusion: TD children utilized a larger repertoire of coping strategies and had greater coping efficacy compared to peers with SEND early during the pandemic. These findings emphasize the need for targeted, community-level interventions to promote coping in children with SEND, particularly during pandemics and other public health crises.

Citation: Alenezi S, Alarabi M, Alyahya AS, Almadani AH, Almarshedi A, Algazlan M, Alnemary F, Bashiri FA, Alkhawashki SH, Altuwariqi MH, Alsedrani R, Alkhiri A, Abughanim SA, Boafo A, Temsah MH. Emotional coping strategies in children with and without special educational needs during the COVID-19 pandemic in Saudi Arabia. Front Public Health. 2025 Sep 2;13:1564307. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1564307. PMID: 40963651; PMCID: PMC12436441.