Social representations of Portuguese children about the coronavirus: a contribution to health education and developing life skills

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has substantially affected daily life around the world. Social isolation, fear of infection, and discussion of protective measures were strongly conveyed in media and social discourse, including among children. Given this social dynamic, it is important to understand how the children’s Social Representations (SR) of coronavirus were formed so that health education strategies and life skills development can be devised. Objective This study aimed to analyse the elements that potentially constitute the central core of Portuguese children’s SR about the coronavirus. Methods Twenty-two children aged 9–12 years from a district in northern Portugal participated in the study. Data collection included administering a free word evocation test (FWET), which enabled interpretation through prototypical and maximum similarity analyses, and asking children to make drawings from the trigger term “coronavirus,” which were analysed using content analysis. Results Based on the data, the elements that emerged as possible components of the central core of the children’s SR were “illness,” “death,” “masks” and “virus.” Conclusion This study reinforces the importance of school health education combined with the media disseminating scientific and health information. It can also inspire and guide future work focused on children’s health education and life skills development.