Psychological and psychiatric impact of COVID-19 pandemic among children and adolescents. Emotional impact of COVID-19 on children

Main Article Content

Michela Deolmi
Francesco Pisani

Keywords

child and adolescent psychiatry, COVID-19, Mental Health, psychological impact, Pandemic

Abstract

Background: COVID-19 outbreak and the unprecedent measures imposed by the government, including quarantine and social distancing, cause psychological distress in children and adolescents.


Methods: we review literature about mental health effects of COVID-19 pandemic by using the keywords “COVID-19”, “coronavirus”, “pandemic”, “mental health”, “psych*”, “adolescent” and “child”.


Results: early evidence show high prevalence of anxiety and depressive symptoms in children and adolescents, due to the pandemic itself, to social isolation and to parents’ stress. High grade students, females and low-income families are at higher risk to develop psychiatric symptoms. Psychological distress can be reduced by maintaining contact with peers through social networks and by accurate updates provided by the government through the mass media. Online resources such as information about mental health education and preventive measure, video-counselling, telemedicine and telepsychiatry services, can be useful to reduce the psychosocial effects of the novel coronavirus.


Conclusion: there is urgent need to plan new strategies for early psychological interventions in order to reduce the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on children and adolescents mental health status.

Abstract 5558 | PDF Downloads 2778

References

1. United Nations Policy Brief: COVID-19 and the Need for Action on Mental Health. https://unric.org/it/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2020/05/Policy-Brief-COVID-and-mental-health.pdf, last accessed July 15th, 2020
2. Purgato M, Gastaldon C, Papola D, van Ommeren M, Barbui C, Tol WA. Psychological therapies for the treatment of mental disorders in low- and middle-income countries affected by humanitarian crises. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2018;7(7):CD011849. Published 2018 Jul 5. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD011849.pub2
3. Wang C, Pan R, Wan X, Tan Y, Xu L, Ho CS, et al. Immediate Psychological Responses and Associated Factors during the Initial Stage of the 2019 Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) Epidemic among the General Population in China. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020;17(5):1729. Published 2020 Mar 6. doi:10.3390/ijerph17051729
4. Ozamiz-Etxebarria N, Dosil-Santamaria M, Picaza-Gorrochategui M, Idoiaga-Mondragon N. Stress, anxiety, and depression levels in the initial stage of the COVID-19 outbreak in a population sample in the northern Spain. Niveles de estrés, ansiedad y depresión en la primera fase del brote del COVID-19 en una muestra recogida en el norte de España. Cad Saude Publica. 2020;36(4):e00054020. Published 2020 Apr 30. doi:10.1590/0102-311X00054020
5. Zhou SJ, Zhang LG, Wang LL, Guo ZC, Wang JQ, Chen JC, et al. Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of psychological health problems in Chinese adolescents during the outbreak of COVID-19. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2020;29(6):749-758. doi:10.1007/s00787-020-01541-4
6. Saurabh K, Ranjan S. Compliance and Psychological Impact of Quarantine in Children and Adolescents due to Covid-19 Pandemic. Indian J Pediatr. 2020;87(7):532-536. doi:10.1007/s12098-020-03347-3
7. Liu X, Luo WT, Li Y, Li CN, Hong ZS, Chen HL, et al. Psychological status and behavior changes of the public during the COVID-19 epidemic in China. Infect Dis Poverty. 2020;9(1):58. Published 2020 May 29. doi:10.1186/s40249-020-00678-3
8. Sharma V, Reina Ortiz M, Sharma N. Risk and Protective Factors for Adolescent and Young Adult Mental Health Within the Context of COVID-19: A Perspective From Nepal. J Adolesc Health. 2020;67(1):135-137. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.04.006
9. Sani G, Janiri D, Di Nicola M, Janiri L, Ferretti S, Chieffo D. Mental health during and after the COVID-19 emergency in Italy.Psychiatry Clin Neurosci. 2020;74(6):372. doi:10.1111/pcn.13004
10. Lee J. Mental health effects of school closures during COVID-19 [published correction appears in Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2020 Apr 17;:]. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2020;4(6):421. doi:10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30109-7
11. Golberstein E, Wen H, Miller BF. Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Mental Health for Children and Adolescents. JAMA Pediatr. Published online April 14, 2020. Doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.1456
12. Ho CS, Chee CY, Ho RC. Mental Health Strategies to Combat the Psychological Impact of COVID-19 Beyond Paranoia and Panic. Ann Acad Med Singapore. 2020;49(3):155-160.
13. Deslandes SF, Coutinho T. The intensive use of the internet by children and adolescents in the context of COVID-19 and the risks for self-inflicted violence. O uso intensivo da internet por crianças e adolescentes no contexto da COVID-19 e os riscos para violências autoinflingidas. Cien Saude Colet. 2020;25(suppl 1):2479-2486. doi:10.1590/1413-81232020256.1.11472020
14. Loades ME, Chatburn E, Higson-Sweeney N, Reynolds S, Shafran R, Brigden A, et al. Rapid Systematic Review: The Impact of Social Isolation and Loneliness on the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in the Context of COVID-19 [published online ahead of print, 2020 Jun 3]. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2020;S0890-8567(20)30337-3. doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2020.05.009
15. Orben A, Tomova L, Blakemore SJ. The effects of social deprivation on adolescent development and mental health [published online ahead of print, 2020 Jun 12]. Lancet Child Adolesc Health. 2020;S2352-4642(20)30186-3. doi:10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30186-3
16. Witt A, Ordóñez A, Martin A, Vitiello B, Fegert JM. Child and adolescent mental health service provision and research during the Covid-19 pandemic: challenges, opportunities, and a call for submissions. Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2020;14:19. Published 2020 May 11. doi:10.1186/s13034-020-00324-8
17. Ramalho R, Adiukwu F, Gashi Bytyçi D, El Hayek S, Gonzalez-Diaz JM, Larnaout A, et al. Telepsychiatry and healthcare access inequities during the COVID-19 pandemic [published online ahead of print, 2020 Jun 16]. Asian J Psychiatr. 2020;53:102234. doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102234
18. Hoekstra PJ. Suicidality in children and adolescents: lessons to be learned from the COVID-19 crisis. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2020;29(6):737-738. doi:10.1007/s00787-020-01570-z
19. Cluver L, Lachman JM, Sherr L, Wessels I, Krug E, Rakotomalala S et al. Parenting in a time of COVID-19 [published correction appears in Lancet. 2020 Apr 11;395(10231):1194]. Lancet. 2020;395(10231):e64. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(20)30736-4
20. Rosenthal CM, Thompson LA. Child Abuse Awareness Month During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic. JAMA Pediatr. Published online April 24, 2020. doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.1459
21. Rajkumar RP. COVID-19 and mental health: A review of the existing literature [published online ahead of print, 2020 Apr 10]. Asian J Psychiatr. 2020;52:102066. doi:10.1016/j.ajp.2020.102066
22. Zhou X. Managing psychological distress in children and adolescents following the COVID-19 epidemic: A cooperative approach [published online ahead of print, 2020 Jun 18]. Psychol Trauma. 2020;10.1037/tra0000754. doi:10.1037/tra0000754
23. Buzzi C, Tucci M, Ciprandi R, Brambilla I, Caimmi S, Ciprandi G, et al. The psycho-social effects of COVID-19 on Italian adolescents' attitudes and behaviors. Ital J Pediatr. 2020;46(1):69. Published 2020 May 24. doi:10.1186/s13052-020-00833