Table 2 Channel variables: definition and descriptive statistics

Psychological distress (PSY)

anxiety

The variable indicates if the student felt anxious about the changes in his/her schooling

IS1G24A

Categorical: 1 (strongly disagree); 2 (disagree); 3 (agree); 4 (strongly agree)

worry_learn

The variable indicates if the student was worried about how the disruption affected his/her learning

IS1G24D

Categorical: 1 (strongly disagree); 2 (disagree); 3 (agree); 4 (strongly agree)

worry_future

The variable indicates if the student was worried about how this disruption will affect his/her future education

IS1G24E

Categorical: 1 (strongly disagree); 2 (disagree); 3 (agree); 4 (strongly agree)

Support from teachers and family (SUP)

gen_sup

The variable indicates if there was someone available who could help the student with his/her schoolwork during the COVID-19 disruption. The information, available from IS1G15D, is rescaled as described in “possible values”

IS1G15D

Binary: 1(often or always available); 0 (no or rarely available)

parent_sup

The variable indicates if student's parent(s) or guardian(s) was/were available and could help him/her with schoolwork during the COVID-19 disruption. The information, available from IS1G15A, is rescaled as described in “possible values”

IS1G15A

Binary: 1(often or always available); 0 (no or rarely available)

teach_sup

The variable is the aggregation of seven questions about the support and the availability of teachers reported by students (availability to help, availability and effort to communicate, quality of feedback, learning motivation, adaption of schoolwork to individual needs). The variable is the mean of the value of the seven variables, being each variable measured in 1–4 Likert scale, with 1 indicating “strongly disagree”, 2 “disagree”, 3 “agree”, and 4 “strongly agree”, for this reason it is treated as continuous

IS1G21A—IS1G21H

Continuous: between 1 and 4

Family climate (FAM)

safe_home

The variable indicates if the student felt safer at home than she/he usually feels at school

IS1G17B

Categorical: 1 (never or hardly ever); 2 (sometimes); 3 (most of the time); 4 (always)

happy_home

The variable indicates if the student was happy to be at home

IS1G17F

Categorical: 1 (never or hardly ever); 2 (sometimes); 3 (most of the time); 4 (always)

Physical activity and fitness (PHY)

exercise

The variable indicates if the student exercised (including walking) more than usual, during the COVID-19 disruption

IS1G25A

Categorical: 1 (strongly disagree); 2 (disagree); 3 (agree); 4 (strongly agree)

outdoor

The variable indicates if the student was able to do more than his/her usual outside-of-school activities (e.g., scouts, guides, training for sports), during the COVID-19 disruption

IS1G25B

Categorical: 1 (strongly disagree); 2 (disagree); 3 (agree); 4 (strongly agree)

fit

The variable indicates if the student felt fit and healthy during the COVID-19 disruption

IS1G25C

Categorical: 1 (strongly disagree); 2 (disagree); 3 (agree); 4 (strongly agree)

Household resources for remote education (RES)

private_pc

The variable indicates if the student had a computer or tablet device used only by him/her, during the COVID-19 disruption

IS1G05A

Binary: 1(yes, it worked well); 0 (no or not working well)

internet

The variable indicates if the student had access to the internet at home, during the COVID-19 disruption

IS1G03

Binary: 1(yes, it worked well); 0 (no or not working well)

quiet_space

The variable indicates if the student had a quiet space to study with a desk and chair, during the COVID-19 disruption

IS1G17A

Binary: 1(most of the time); 0 (otherwise)

ICT skills pre-Covid (ICT)

ict_gen

The variable indicates how many general ICT tasks the student reported to already knew how to perform before COVID-19, among: connect a device to the internet, send and receive email, maintain devices, fix problems when the device is not working properly. The variable is built on the information of four single questions, to which the student could respond “I already knew how to do this before the pandemic”, I learned how to do this during the pandemic”, and “I still do not know how to do this”

IS1G07A, IS1G07B, IS1G07H, IS1G07I

Numerical: between 0 and 4 (tasks)

ict_school

The variable indicates how many school-related ICT tasks the student reported to already knew how to perform before COVID-19, among: log into my school portal, manage settings on a device to access school software, send photos, videos or audio of my learning, use applications (e.g., Seesaw and Google classrooms) to communicate with my teacher. The variable is built on the information of four single questions, to which the student could respond “I already knew how to do this before the pandemic”, I learned how to do this during the pandemic”, and “I still do not know how to do this”

IS1G07C, IS1G07E, IS1G07F, IS1G07G

Numerical: between 0 and 4 (tasks)