The effect of the pandemic on the behavior of junior high school students

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected people of all ages worldwide both physically and mentally. After the pandemic, we observed an increase in fights and disregard for rules among students at a junior high school in a south suburb of Chicago when it returned to in-person instruction. We wondered if the isolation caused by the pandemic might have played a part in this behavior change, as research suggests that social isolation has negative effects both physically and mentally. Thus, this study aimed to test two hypotheses. Firstly, we hypothesized that social isolation during the pandemic was positively correlated with disregard for social norms. Secondly, we hypothesized that group isolation during the pandemic was positively correlated with out-group conflicts when school returned to in-person. Three groups were surveyed (students, parents, and teachers) to measure students’ social and group isolation during virtual school and behavior when in- person school returned. 149 students, 34 teachers, and 125 parents completed the survey. The results of the teacher survey showed that there was a significant increase in disregard for rules and social norms when school returned to in-person instruction. No significant correlations supported either hypothesis. However, we found that increased virtual contact was significantly correlated with increased in-person conflicts and disregard for social norms after the pandemic. These findings were supported by both the parent and student surveys. Virtual contact is very prevalent in today’s world. Thus, further research into the effect of online interactions is very important.