{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,23]],"date-time":"2026-10-23T20:52:37Z","timestamp":1792788757272,"version":"4.5.0"},"reference-count":53,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1791504000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"The Education University of Hong Kong","award":["(#04753)"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["(#04753)"]}],"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/000t0f062","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS One"],"abstract":"<jats:p>\n                    Previous studies investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on children\u2019s language development. This study explored the association between different COVID-19 infection statuses (children with no history of infection, children with a history of infection, and children with long COVID symptoms) and Hong Kong elementary children\u2019s Chinese and English reading performance. Participants were 195 dyads of parents and elementary children from Grades 1\u20136 (\n                    <jats:italic>M<\/jats:italic>\n                    <jats:sub>age<\/jats:sub>\n                    \u2009=\u20098;8,\n                    <jats:italic>SD<\/jats:italic>\n                    <jats:sub>age<\/jats:sub>\n                    \u2009=\u20091;7, 89 boys and 106 girls) in 2022\u22122023. We adopted a 3 x 3 between-participant design. The two independent variables were COVID-19 status and grade levels. The dependent variables were parents\u2019 ratings of reading proficiencies, reading proficiencies in Chinese and English, and the differences between the parents\u2019 ratings and reading proficiencies. All measures (the language experience and proficiency questionnaire for parents\u2019 ratings, Chinese word reading battery, and the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test \u2013 Third Edition) were adapted from published works and showed high reliability in our sample. Using Multivariate Analysis of Covariates (MANCOVA) and Analyses of covariance (ANCOVA), we examined the links of infection with covariates, including parents\u2019 education level, number of children in the family, and monthly household income. We found that long COVID status was associated with lower parent-rated Chinese reading in the upper grades and lower Chinese spelling performance. Grade-specific differences in parent\u2013performance discrepancy scores were also observed. These findings highlight the need for further longitudinal investigations and needs-based monitoring using both caregiver reports and performance-based assessments for children experiencing persistent health and learning difficulties.\n                  <\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0359793","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]],"date-time":"2026-10-09T17:23:27Z","timestamp":1791566607000},"page":"e0359793","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["COVID-19 infection and Hong Kong elementary children\u2019s Chinese and English reading proficiencies: Parent-reported proficiency versus performance-based reading tests"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"21","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0006-9586-8591","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Hay Mar","family":"Myat Kyaw","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"The Education University of Hong Kong","place":["Hong Kong, China"],"department":["Department of Early Childhood Education"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-2193-6126","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Yixun","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Education University of Hong Kong","place":["Hong Kong, China"],"department":["Department of Early Childhood Education"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Derwin King Chung","family":"Chan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hong Kong Metropolitan University","place":["Hong Kong, China"],"department":["Department of Social Sciences"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Catherine Mamaid","family":"Capio","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Hong Kong Metropolitan University","place":["Hong Kong, China"],"department":["Department of Physiotherapy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Winnie Wan Yee","family":"Tso","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The University of Hong Kong","place":["Hong Kong, China"],"department":["Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,9]]},"reference":[{"issue":"5","key":"pone.0359793.ref001","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1047","DOI":"10.1002\/alz.12644","article-title":"Changes in cognitive functioning after COVID-19: A systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"18","author":"L Crivelli","year":"2022","journal-title":"Alzheimers Dement"},{"issue":"10","key":"pone.0359793.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3245","DOI":"10.1111\/ene.14775","article-title":"Cognitive decline among individuals with history of mild symptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection: A longitudinal prospective study nested to a 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