COVID‑19 pandemic linked to increased language delays in early childhood, Turkish study finds

A new study examining the developmental impacts of the COVID‑19 pandemic on young children has found a significant increase in language and personal social delays, particularly among girls, highlighting the need for early intervention.

As we know early childhood is a highly sensitive period, shaped by stable and responsive environments. Language development, in particular, relies heavily on reciprocal social interaction, caregiver responsiveness and rich verbal input.

During the COVID‑19 pandemic, public health restrictions such as school closures, social distancing and increased screen time significantly disrupted these inputs. The resulting reduction in peer interaction and rise in caregiver stress may have altered the emotional climate essential for optimal development.

The findings, published in Scientific Reports by Özkan et al. (2025), are based on a retrospective cross‑sectional study conducted in Kütahya, western Turkey. Data was collected from 709 children aged 0–6 who attended the region’s only Child and Adolescent Psychiatry outpatient clinic.

Researchers compared two independent cohorts, 431 children assessed in 2019 (pre‑pandemic) and 278 children assessed in 2021 (during the pandemic), using the Denver II Developmental Screening Test.

Unlike standard scoring, the study applied a cumulative delay score, where each failed item across four developmental domains (Language, Fine Motor–Adaptive, Personal–Social and Gross Motor) was tallied to indicate the extent of developmental delay.

Key findings

The pandemic period was associated with:

• A significant increase in language delays, with mean scores rising from 6.90 in 2019 to 9.73 in 2021 (p < 0.0001)
• A rise in personal–social delays (p = 0.0041)
• A notable decrease in fine motor delays, suggesting potential benefits from increased home‑based activities such as drawing or tablet use
• No significant change in gross motor development

The rate of isolated language delays tripled, increasing from 3.2 % in 2019 to 11.5 % in 2021.

A particularly striking finding was the shift in gender vulnerability:

• Pre‑pandemic: Boys had higher language delay scores than girls
• During the pandemic: Girls showed greater delays in the personal–social, fine motor and gross motor domains. Language delays among girls also increased, though not significantly.

This reversal suggests that pandemic conditions may have disproportionately affected girls’ development, challenging existing assumptions about male vulnerability in early childhood.

The authors note this may relate to the “female protective effect,” in which girls require a higher threshold of environmental risk but may experience more severe outcomes when impacted.

While the study offers compelling insights, several limitations should be noted:

• The single‑centre design may limit generalisability to other regions or countries.
• Retrospective data collection did not control for variables such as socioeconomic status, COVID‑19 exposure or caregiver stress.
• The use of cumulative delay scores (rather than standard Denver II categories) requires cautious interpretation.
• Independent cohorts precluded tracking of individual developmental trajectories over time.

The pandemic has left a developmental imprint on the youngest members of society, with marked impacts in the domains of language and personal–social development. As early learning services continue to navigate the long‑tail effects of COVID‑19, this study identifies the need for gender‑sensitive, domain‑specific and proactive approaches to early intervention.

Read the full study in Scientific Reports