Psychische Gesundheit der Kindergartenkinder und Krisenintervention durch Elementarpädagog_innen während der COVID-19-Pandemie

The COVID-19 Children's Study investigates the mental health of Tyrolean children during the COVID-19 pandemic. This substudy used a mixed-methods design to investigate preschool children from the perspective of their parents and preschool teachers. We conducted a quantitative online survey among 743 parents from North and South Tyrol at three time points (summer of 2020, 2021, 2022), assessing the children's internalizing problems, externalizing problems (CBCL 1.5 - 5), and trauma symptoms (CATS-C-D 3 - 6). Additionally, we interviewed 19 preschool teachers from North Tyrol in focus groups in the spring of 2021 about changes in their children and how the teachers had dealt with the crisis. In the summer of 2021 and 2022, the parents reported more mental health problems than in the summer of 2020. Thematic analysis revealed three categories (warning signs, wants/needs, positive outcomes) and five categories of teachers' coping strategies corresponding to Hobfoll et al's (2007) trauma-intervention principles. The results show that preschool teachers can make a valuable contribution to children's mental health during crises by observing warning signs, responding to children's needs, and promoting positive outcomes.