Children’s understanding of COVID-19 and the flu in three demographically distinct U.S. communities.

= 65). We found that children had a good understanding of the external processes involved in disease transmission but showed gaps and misconceptions about the internal biological processes; accuracy increased with age. The patterns of responding were largely similar across the three types of communities. Nonetheless, sociodemographic variables related to children's and parents' knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors toward illness. Overall, this study provides a comprehensive view of how children in different communities across the United States think about illness and viruses. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).