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Adolescent psychiatric disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown
Abstract
The aim of this paper was to review the literature on adolescent psychiatric disorders related to the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown. Stressful life events, extended home confinement, brutal grief, intrafamilial violence, overuse of the Internet and social media are factors that could influence the mental health of adolescents during this period. The COVID-19 pandemic could result in increased psychiatric disorders such as Post-Traumatic Stress, Depressive, and Anxiety Disorders, as well as grief-related symptoms. Adolescents with psychiatric disorders are at risk of a break or change in their care and management; they may experience increased symptoms. The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown may have a negative outcome on the mental health of adolescents, although there is still no data on the long term impact of this crisis. Adolescents’ individual, familial, and social vulnerability, as well as individual and familial coping abilities, are factors related to adolescent mental health in times of crisis. Adolescents are often vulnerable and require careful consideration by caregivers and healthcare system adaptations to allow for mental health support despite the lockdown. Research on adolescent psychiatric disorders in times of pandemics is necessary, as such a global situation could be prolonged or repeated.
... The SARS-COVID-19 Global Pandemic (COVID-19) has impacted young people since its emergence in November 2019. Past epidemics, pandemics, and disasters have all been found to be associated with increased rates of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety among adolescents [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. As such, it is not surprising that globally, adolescents have experienced higher rates of anxiety, depression, and stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic [1,6]. ...
... Past epidemics, pandemics, and disasters have all been found to be associated with increased rates of posttraumatic stress disorder, depression, and anxiety among adolescents [1][2][3][4][5][6][7]. As such, it is not surprising that globally, adolescents have experienced higher rates of anxiety, depression, and stress due to the COVID-19 pandemic [1,6]. Overall, poorer mental health in general has been reported among adolescents and young adults since the start of the pandemic [5,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. ...
... Overall, poorer mental health in general has been reported among adolescents and young adults since the start of the pandemic [5,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15]. Furthermore, increased rates of eating disorders [16][17][18], including anorexia nervosa (AN) and atypical anorexia nervosa (AAN) [7,19], and increased rates of more severe eating disorders symptomatology [20][21][22][23][24], have been thought to be influenced by limited socialization, increased isolation, cancelled sports and extra-curricular activities, increased time spent with family, interrupted or decreased access to health care, reduced or eliminated established schedules, and increased general stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, such as fears about catching the virus or having a family member die from the virus, concerns about family financial stability, to concerns about access to food [1,9,25,26], which were all caused or exacerbated by the pandemic. ...
Background
The extent to which the recent global COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted young people with restrictive eating disorders [i.e., anorexia nervosa (AN) and atypical anorexia nervosa (AAN)] is unclear. We conducted a scoping review of the literature to identify how the pandemic has impacted this population and to identify gaps in the current literature to inform future research efforts.
Main body
We searched PubMed, EMBASE, the Web of Science, The Cochrane Library, PsycInfo, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, LitCovid, Google Scholar, and relevant agency websites from 2019 to 2022. We included studies that focused on young people with AN/AAN globally. Of the 916 unduplicated articles screened, 17 articles met the inclusion criteria, reporting on 17 unique studies including 4,379 individuals. Three key findings were identified. First, an increase in hospitalizations related to eating disorders was found during COVID-19 among young people with AN and AAN. Multiple studies cited increased medical instability, even though the overall duration of disease was shorter compared to pre-pandemic levels. Second, changes in eating disorder-related symptomology during the pandemic were reported in this population, as well as poorer overall behavioral and mental health. Suggested reasons behind changes included boredom or minimal distraction from pathological thoughts, increased social isolation, increased social media and online use (e.g., reading blogs or watching YouTube), gym and school closures, changes in routines due to lockdowns and quarantines, and worries over gaining the “Quarantine 15”. Third, there was an increase in the use of telemedicine as a treatment modality for the treatment of AN. Challenges were reported by both clinicians and patients regardless of past experience using telemedicine. When compared to no treatment, telemedicine was recognized as the best option during COVID-19 lockdowns; however some individuals expressed the preference for in-person treatment and planned to return to it once it became available.
Conclusion
The pandemic significantly impacted young people with restrictive eating disorders as seen by increased hospitalizations and requests for outpatient care. A primary driver of the changes in eating disorder symptomatology may be lockdowns and quarantines. Further research investigating how the series of lockdowns and re-openings impacted individuals with AN/AAN is warranted.
... Esse termo abrange amplas, múltiplas e complexas interações, além de envolverem fatores biológicos, sociais, psicológicos do indivíduo e do meio onde ele se encontra. Segundo a Constituição da Organização Mundial da Saúde (OMS), saúde mental pode ser definida como um estado de bemestar, algo a mais que simplesmente a ausência de um transtorno mental, no qual o indivíduo compreende suas próprias habilidades e consegue lidar com os estresses do cotidiano, trabalhar de forma produtiva e, também, ser capaz de contribuir no contexto de sua comunidade (Gama et al., 2014;Almeida, 2019;Guessoum et al., 2020). ...
... Levando em conta os dados coletados pela pesquisa, percebese um perfil de adolescente no estudo que está sendo mais propenso a desenvolver problemas em sua saúde mental: aluna do sexo feminino, 16 anos, que cursa o 2º ano do ensino médio, mora com a mãe e os irmãos e tem renda familiar de 1 a 2 salários-mínimos. Quando comparamos essa descoberta com os dados da literatura nota-se que há fatores de risco associados como a renda familiar baixa e nível de escolarização (Guessoum et al., 2020). ...
INTRODUÇÃO: No mês de dezembro de 2019, pacientes de uma cidade da China, Wuhan, começaram a contrair uma pneumonia viral, um novo coronavírus oficializado pela OMS no dia 30 de janeiro de 2020. A pandemia provocada pelo SARS-CoV-2 impactou na vida das pessoas de uma maneira jamais vista, incluindo a população adolescente. Nesse contexto, uma das consequências imediatas foi o encerramento das escolas. Diante disso, urge a necessidade de se abordar as repercussões na saúde mental da população adolescente que frequenta o Ensino Médio. METODOLOGIA: Tratou-se de um estudo descritivo qualitativo que envolveu uma revisão bibliográfica da literatura e a pesquisa de campo. Foi realizada um levantamento de artigos, coletâneas e obras completas que estavam de acordo com a temática do estudo e a pesquisa de campo foi realizada em uma escola de Ensino Médio da Região Leste de Goiânia onde foram aplicados os questionários junto aos adolescentes para identificar os aspectos relacionados aos impactos na saúde mental no período da pandemia de SARS-CoV-2. RESULTADOS: Foi encontrado um perfil relacionado ao adolescente que concentrou alunos de 16 anos (53,8%) do sexo feminino (65,4%) com renda de 1 a 2 salários-mínimos (46,2%). Quando questionados sobre como a pandemia afetou seu aprendizado, 80,8% responderam que se sentiram afetados de alguma forma. Já quanto ao comportamento, 57,7% responderam que voltaram às aulas com comportamento de timidez, insegurança e irritabilidade. CONCLUSÃO: Em síntese, as repercussões da pandemia na saúde mental dos adolescentes foram negativas, sendo o distanciamento social o principal fator agravante.
... During the pandemic, some studies reported that individual and family coping abilities and social support were significant predictors of positive mental health outcomes (33,34). The available evidence identifies aspects of adolescents' resilience to COVID-19, protecting against the mental health problems caused by the pandemic (34,35). ...
... During the pandemic, some studies reported that individual and family coping abilities and social support were significant predictors of positive mental health outcomes (33,34). The available evidence identifies aspects of adolescents' resilience to COVID-19, protecting against the mental health problems caused by the pandemic (34,35). Some studies on aspects of adolescent resilience during the pandemic found that variables such as cognitive appraisal and humor (36) or taskoriented and avoidance-oriented coping styles (35) seem to protect against the mental health problems caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. ...
... What makes them at risk is their developmental stage which is characterised by physical, psychological, emotional and social changes associated with stress, lower emotional stability, low self-control and unrealism (Kuss et al., 2013) and peer pressure. Adding to their natural vulnerabilities, COVID-19 control methods such as extended absence from formal education and home seclusion had a negative impact on teenager's psychosocial status, with internet use significantly rising (Guessoum et al., 2020;Lin et al., 2020). Aggression, depression and anxiety, hyper activity, stress and suicidal behaviours were found to be common with increased use of internet (Dong et al., 2020;Guessoum et al., 2020;Obeid et al., 2019). ...
... Adding to their natural vulnerabilities, COVID-19 control methods such as extended absence from formal education and home seclusion had a negative impact on teenager's psychosocial status, with internet use significantly rising (Guessoum et al., 2020;Lin et al., 2020). Aggression, depression and anxiety, hyper activity, stress and suicidal behaviours were found to be common with increased use of internet (Dong et al., 2020;Guessoum et al., 2020;Obeid et al., 2019). Minimal interactions with people, closure of school, unavailability of friends and shift to Internet-based schooling (Cui & Chi, 2021), during the pandemic period caused high internet usage. ...
Internet addiction is an emergent health hazard among adolescents, especially after COVID19. Parenting factors in a family environment specifically, have potential roles in either causing excessive internet usage, or in protecting teenagers from internet addiction.The aim of the study was to understand factors in parent-adolescent relationship that determine low and excessive internet usage.A total of 102 adolescents within the age group of 13 to 18 years from two different schools in urban Bengaluru, India were recruited. Data was collected using three instruments namely semi structured tool to assess socio-demographic characteristics, Young’s internet addiction test for internet usage and parental bonding instrument for adolescent perception about parenting dimensions.Half of the participants were found to have mild to severe levels of internet addiction, and the remaining half had normal levels of internet usage. The results showed that decreased care and increased control from the mother, high autonomy from father and increased rejection from both parents as risk factors associated with adolescent internet excessive use. No other significant associations were found between adolescents’ demographic, academic, peer and school profile and their internet addiction.
As internet has become an inevitable part of our life, parent-adolescent relationship forms an essential moderating factor in adolescents’ internet usage.
... Studies have indicated that the stressful life events (StressLEv) induced by the current pandemic, and related prevention and control policies, including quarantine, closure of schools, and shift to online teaching, are associated with higher rates of anxiety, depression, and stress symptoms (Chen et al., 2020;Guessoum et al., 2020;Pozza, et al., 2020;Villanti et al., 2022;Viner et al., 2022). One study reported that 13.2% of participants were post-traumatic stress disorder-positive, and 64.0% reported impairment in psychosocial functioning because of the pandemic (Bridgland et al., 2021). ...
... Wang et al., 2021). The severity of the event may determine how long and to what extent StressLEv continue to affect well-being (Guessoum et al., 2020). In addition, the results indicated that the coping strategies adopted by youth were limited in the post-pandemic era. ...
Background:
In the pandemic era, stressful life events (StressLEv) aggravated the impact on mental health. However, youths exhibited different responses to StressLEv because of diverse coping strategies, social support, and emotional intelligence before and after the pandemic.
Aims:
To explore the changes in StressLEv and coping strategies before and after the coronavirus 2019 pandemic, as well as report the associations among mental health and related factors in a sample of Chinese youths experiencing the post-pandemic era.
Method:
A cross-sectional study using convenience sampling was conducted from July 1 to August 30, 2022, covering 3,038 youths aged 14 to 25 in China. Multiple logistic regression was conducted for crude odds ratios (ORs) and adjusted ORs. The relationships between lasso-selected variables was examined using structural equation modeling.
Results:
More StressLEv and limited coping strategies were reported after the pandemic. In the post-pandemic era, BSI-positive youths (youths diagnosed as considered case by Brief Symptom Inventory, BSI) reported more StressLEv (BSI-positive: mean = 75.47; BSI-negative: mean = 28.69), less social support (BSI-positive: mean = 31.81; BSI-negative: mean = 39.22), and lower emotional intelligence (BSI-positive: mean = 75.34; BSI-negative: mean = 89.42). The willingness to engage in mental health counseling (OR: no vs. yes: 1.89; uncertain vs. yes: 4.42), being punished (OR: 1.27), adaptation problems (OR: 1.06), task-oriented coping (OR: 0.95), social diversion coping (OR: 0.90), objective support (OR: 0.90), utilization of social support (OR: 0.81), and regulation of emotion in oneself (OR: 0.94) were associated with mental health. Structural equation modeling supported our theoretical framework.
Conclusions:
Pandemic-induced mental health problems should not be ignored. The proposed response mechanisms could guide the development of effective interventions, which can help youths better cope with StressLEv and maintain good mental health.
... Dichas estrategias pueden ser facilitadas por los avances tecnológicos y de conectividad a través de las redes sociales y las diferentes plataformas que la tecnología y el internet brindan (en la actualidad) para estar conectados con los pares y amigos, ayudando a mantener el apoyo social presente (Courtet et al., 2020;Wasserman et al., 2020). De acuerdo con la literatura, contar con apoyo social puede ayudar a disminuir el impacto psicológico negativo de una situación estresante (Carrillo, 2022;Guessoum et al., 2020;Pan et al., 2005), además de facilitar el compartir dinámicas para la distracción y diversión (en la diversidad recreativa o actividad física-deportiva), así como la conexión con expertos (Maunder et al., 2003) y la información de medios oficiales que pueden resultar en un elemento de apoyo para los adolescentes (Manuell & Cukor, 2011). ...
... Por último, el tener tiempo libre entre 1 a 4 horas por semana resultó ser un factor que influye significativamente sobre un afrontamiento más eficaz como es la posibilidad de contar con apoyo social, el cual resulta clave para hacer frente a condiciones como la generada por la contingencia por COVID-19 (Guessoum et al., 2020;Salazar et al., 2021); sin embargo, de no ser aprovechado de forma adecuada, el tiempo libre puede transformarse en una "pérdida de tiempo" que se refleja en la percepción de Afrontamiento Improductivo como fue el caso del presente estudio. Es una realidad que la actividad recreativa y deportiva tienen un profundo vinculo social y compartición de experiencias con otros y a partir de otros (Cuenca, 2020), aumentando la competencia social y aumentando las estrategias de afrontamiento como fue el caso de esta población (Canessa, 2002). ...
En marzo del 2020, el consejo de Salubridad General Mexicana reconoció la epidemia de enfermedad por el virus SARS-CoV2 como grave y de atención prioritaria estableciendo medidas preventivas llamando al confinamiento. El presente trabajo centra su atención en una población adolescente, que por naturaleza se encuentran en la búsqueda de movilización fuera de la familia y la autonomía. El objetivo planteó analizar la relación de la actividad recreativa de los adolescentes mexicanos durante la primera etapa del confinamiento por COVID-19 (marzo-julio 2020) con el manejo de las habilidades sociales y estrategias de afrontamiento. El diseño de investigación corresponde al tipo empírico no experimental; para el levantamiento de información se diseñó un cuestionario ad hoc que integró tres instrumentos: Cuestionario la recreación en adolescentes en situación de confinamiento, Escala validada de Habilidades Sociales por sus siglas EHS y Escalas de afrontamientos para adolescentes (ACS). Dicho instrumento tuvo una fiabilidad de Alfa de Cronbach de α=,962 y de coeficiente Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin de ,969. La selección de la muestra fue probabilística, conformada por 444 adolescentes mexicanos de la zona occidente de 12 a 17 años, el 57,4% mujeres y 42,6% hombres. Los principales hallazgos muestran relaciones positivas entre las habilidades sociales y las estrategias de afrontamiento. Siendo las actividades recreativas un recurso de apoyo social que permitió el afrontamiento efectivo durante la pandemia. El 88,1% de los estudiantes tuvo tiempo libre suficiente para realizar actividades recreativas y físico-deportivas como ejercitarse o moverse (67%), trotaron (57,9%), entrenaron un deporte (57,7%) y realizaron caminatas al aire libre (50,7%). Las actividades recreativas realizadas con mayor frecuencia fueron escuchar música, dormir y ver televisión. Asimismo, se encontró que las mujeres obtienen mejores resultados que los hombres en Habilidades Sociales; se hallaron diferencias en la Búsqueda de Apoyo de Expertos, siendo los jóvenes de bachillerato quienes más recurren a esta medida y; finalmente, se encontró una asociación positiva entre las Actividades de Afrontamiento que utilizan los adolescentes y las Habilidades Sociales. Lo que corrobora que la habilitación de los adolescentes en el uso positivo y activo del ocio y la recreación permite un mejor afrontamiento y manejo de las habilidades sociales, en otras palabras, un mecanismo para la contención en situación de crisis juvenil o de convivencia social.
The Mexican General Health Council in March 2020 recognized the SARS-CoV2 epidemic as serious and of priority attention, establishing preventive measures and calling for confinement. This paper focuses its attention on an adolescent population, who by nature are in search of mobilization outside the family and independence. The objective stated to analyze the relationship of recreational activity of Mexican adolescents during the first stage of COVID-19 confinement (March-July 2020) with handling social skills and coping strategies. The research design corresponds to the non-experimental empirical type; For the collection of information, an ad hoc questionnaire was designed that integrated three instruments: Questionnaire on recreation in adolescents in a situation of confinement, Validated Scale of Social Skills by its acronym EHS and Coping Scales for adolescents (ACS). Said instrument had a reliability of Cronbach's Alpha of α=.962 and a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin coefficient of .969. The selection of the sample was probabilistic, made up of 444 Mexican adolescents from the western zone between 12 and 17 years old, 57.4% women and 42.6% men. The main findings show positive relationships between social skills and coping strategies. Being recreational activities a social support resource that allowed effective coping during the pandemic. 88.1% of the students had enough free time to carry out recreational and physical-sports activities such as exercising or moving (67%), jogging (57.9%), training a sport (57.7%) and taking walks to the open air (50.7%). The most frequently performed recreational activities were listening to music, sleeping, and watching television. Likewise, it was found that women obtain better results than men in Social Skills; differences were found in the Search for Expert Support, with high school students being the ones who most resort to this measure and; finally, a positive association was found between the Coping Activities used by adolescents and Social Skills. This corroborates that the empowerment of adolescents in the positive and active use of leisure and recreation allows better coping and management of social skills, in other words, a mechanism for containment in a situation of youth crisis or social coexistence.
... Prevention strategies such as social distancing, quarantine, and lockdown during the pandemic have brought about mental health issues in general populations, including depression, anxiety, self-harm, suicide ideation and attempt [1][2][3][4]. Particularly, these symptoms would be more likely to occur among children and adolescents, mainly due to their psychological and developmental vulnerabilities associated with immaturity [5,6]. For this reason, call-to-action for longitudinal mental health research during (and after) the COVID-19 pandemic has been raised to understand the long-term impact of the pandemic on children and adolescents [7,8]. ...
... Positive relationships between perceived life stress and NSSI have also been indicated among adolescent and college students [43,57,58], despite that frequent use of cross-sectional analyses might leave unclear the precise nature of the relation between life stress and NSSI [42]. The COVID-19 pandemic represents a unique challenge for individuals, and pandemic-related stress may increase the risk for self-injurious behaviors in adolescents [6,59]. Especially, pre-existing vulnerabilities such as poor regulatory emotional self-efficacy and higher levels of internalizing symptoms before the pandemic might increase the risk to engage in NSSI for adolescents [59]. ...
Objectives
Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) behavior is a severe public health issue in adolescents. This study investigated the possible impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and analyzed psychological risk factors on adolescent NSSI.
Methods
A one-year follow-up study was conducted in September 2019 (Time 1) and September 2020 (Time 2) among 3588 high school students. The completed follow-up participants (N = 2527) were classified into no NSSI (negative at both time points), emerging NSSI (negative at Time 1 but positive at Time 2), and sustained NSSI (positive at both time points) subgroups according to their NSSI behaviors before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Perceived family functioning, perceived school climate, negative life events, personality traits (neuroticism, impulsivity, and self-control) were assessed using self-report scales.
Results
The data indicated an increase (10.3%) in the incidence of NSSI. Compared to no NSSI subjects, the emerging NSSI and sustained NSSI subgroups had lower perceived family functioning, higher neuroticism, higher impulse-system but lower self-control scores, and more negative life events. Logistic regressions revealed that after controlling for demographics, neuroticism and impulse-system levels at Time 1 positively predicted emerging NSSI behavior, and similarly, higher neuroticism and impulsivity and lower self-control at Time 1 predicted sustained NSSI behavior.
Conclusions
These findings highlighted the aggravated impact of the COVID-19 on NSSI, and suggested that individual neuroticism, impulsivity, and self-control traits might be crucial for the development of NSSI behavior among adolescent students.
... Neuropsychiatric Aspects of Long COVID in Children: Underlying Mechanisms COVID-19 pandemic has impacted young children and teenagers' mental health [24][25][26]. It is currently unclear what causes SARS-CoV-2 infection's long-term neuropsychological symptoms [27]. ...
... SBD is clinically significant if the score is superior to 7.• DA: disorders of arousal (sum the score of the items 17, 20, 21). DA is clinically significant if the score is superior to 6. • SWDT: sleep-wake transition disorders (sum the score of the items6,7,8,12,18,19). SWDT is clinically significant if the score is superior to 14. • DOES: disorders of excessive somnolence (sum the score of the items22,23,24,25,26). DOES is clinically significant if the score is superior to 13. • SHY: sleep hyperhidrosis (sum the score of the items 9, 16). ...
Introduction:
Recent studies show that neuropsychiatric disorders are the most frequent sequelae of COVID-19 in children.
Purpose:
Our work aimed to evaluate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on behavior and sleep in children and adolescents.
Materials and methods:
We enrolled 107 patients aged 1.5-18 years who contracted COVID-19 between one year and one month prior to data collection, referred to the University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli in Italy. We asked their parents to complete two standardized questionnaires for the assessment of behavior (Child Behavior CheckList (CBCL)) and sleep (Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children (SLDS)). We analysed and compared the results with a control group (pre-COVID-19 pandemic).
Results:
In the COVID-19 group, the major results were found for sleep breathing disorders, sleep-wake transition disorders and disorders of initiating and maintaining sleep for the SDSC questionnaire, and internalizing scale, total scale and anxiety/depression for the CBCL questionnaire. The comparison of the CBCL results of the cases with the controls revealed statistically significant differences for the following items: internalizing scale, externalizing scale, somatic complaints, total score, thought problems [(p < 0.01)], anxious/depressed problems and withdrawn [(p < 0.001)].
Conclusions:
COVID-19 has impacted children's and adolescents' mental health. Adolescents were the most affected patient group for internalizing problems, including anxiety and depression.
... Adolescents, in transition to adulthood, are a vulnerable population [24], and their mental health has been strongly affected by pandemic-related anxiety as well as school closures, the need for social distancing, and increased time spent accessing social networking sites [25]. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of preadolescents and adolescents has been widely documented, suggesting increased anxiety and depression [26,25] Larger impacts have been reported in girls and adolescents [2,27]. ...
... Adolescents, in transition to adulthood, are a vulnerable population [24], and their mental health has been strongly affected by pandemic-related anxiety as well as school closures, the need for social distancing, and increased time spent accessing social networking sites [25]. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of preadolescents and adolescents has been widely documented, suggesting increased anxiety and depression [26,25] Larger impacts have been reported in girls and adolescents [2,27]. However, most past studies were either cross-sectional or compared periods before and after lockdown. ...
Background
School closures and social distancing may have affected mental health among preadolescent and adolescent children, who are in a social developmental stage. Rates of anxiety, depression, and stress have been reported to have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic among teenagers worldwide. However, most studies have measured children's mental health in cross-sectional studies or short-term comparisons before and after lockdowns and school closures, and few studies have tracked the long-term effects on mental health among children and adolescents, despite the pandemic lasting more than 2 years.
Methods
An interrupted time-series analysis was performed for longitudinal changes in the monthly number of new mental disorders (eating disorders, schizophrenia, mood disorders, and somatoform disorders). Using a nationwide multicenter electronic health records database in Japan, we analyzed data of patients aged 9 to 18 years from 45 facilities that provided complete data throughout the study period. The study period covered January 2017 to May 2021, defining a national school closure as an intervention event. We modeled the monthly new diagnoses of each mental disorder using a segmented Poisson regression model.
Results
The number of new diagnoses throughout the study period was 362 for eating disorders, 1104 for schizophrenia, 926 for mood disorders, and 1836 for somatoform disorders. The slope of the regression line in monthly number of new diagnoses increased in the post-pandemic period for all targeted mental disorders (change in slope for eating disorders 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00–1.11; schizophrenia 1.04, 95% CI 1.01–1.07; mood disorders 1.04, 95% CI 1.01–1.07; and somatoform disorders 1.04 95% CI 1.02–1.07). The number of new diagnoses for schizophrenia and mood disorders increased early after school closure; while eating disorders showed an increasing trend several months later. Somatoform disorders showed a decreasing trend followed by an increasing trend. Time trends by sex and age also differed for each mental disorder.
Conclusions
In the post-pandemic period, the number of new cases increased over time for eating disorders, schizophrenia, mood disorders, and somatoform disorders. The timing of increase and trends by sex and age differed for each mental disorder.
... The pandemic and associated restrictions have also been shown to have been particularly difficult for young people with existing mental health conditions. 25 This cohort may require additional attention postpandemic and this should be taken into consideration when planning mental health services. 26 Differences by method of self-harm are not overwhelmingly significant, although the ARIMA models are suggestive of a larger decrease in presentations involving 'overdose'. ...
Background
The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns were predicted to have a major impact on suicidal behaviour, including self-harm. However, current studies have produced contradictory findings with limited trend data.
Aims
Nine years of linked individual-level administrative data were utilised to examine changes in hospital-presenting self-harm and ideation (thoughts of self-harm or suicide) before and during the pandemic.
Method
National self-harm registry data were linked to demographic and socioeconomic indicators from healthcare registration records ( n = 1 899 437). Monthly presentations of self-harm or ideation were split (pre-COVID-19 restrictions: April 2012 to February 2020; and during restrictions: March to September 2020). Auto-regressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models were trained in R taking into consideration trends and seasonal effects. Forecast (‘expected’) monthly values were compared with ‘actual’ values, stratified by demographic factors and method of harm.
Results
The number of individuals presenting with self-harm or ideation dropped significantly at the beginning of the pandemic (March–May 2020), before returning mostly to expected trends from June 2020. Stratified analysis showed similar presentation trends across most demographic subgroups except for those aged over 65 years, living alone or in affluent areas, where presentations remained unaffected, and those aged under 16 years, where numbers presenting with self-harm or ideation increased above expected levels.
Conclusions
Although population trends show an overall drop in presentations before a return to ‘normal’ from June 2020, the demographic profile of those presenting with self-harm or ideation varied significantly, with increases in children under the age of 16 years. This highlights important potential target groups who may have been most negatively affected by the pandemic.
... In this case, it is not only the special forms of creativity that are in crisis such as the leading activity of arts and sciences, but also a potential catastrophe of the psychic life when self-realization as a leading activity in general is halted. For instance, in the COVID-19 context, the disturbed and/or halted daily activity is considered the source of severe psycho-mental issues (e.g., see Benke et al., 2020;Chew et al., 2020;Guessoum et al., 2020;Ma et al., 2020;Pandey et al., 2020;Singh et al., 2020;El Maouch et al., 2022b). Hence, threatening the leading activity goes with Germin's (1999) argument about the dissolution of the self in the age of skeptical relativism, chaotic identities, paradoxes, and conflicts in postmodernity, in addition to the threatened sense of identity (see May 1975), and other mood disorders (e.g., see Chruszczewski, 2014b). ...
Creativity is considered a global ability and crucial for ordinary-daily and special (e.g., science, aesthetic) activities. In this paper, from the position of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT), we expand the debate about the creativity crisis and hypothesize that the noted crisis is only the tip of the iceberg represented by the crisis of the postmodern’ incoherent mind, reflecting the crisis of self-realization as a leading activity in the individualistic epoch. By investigating creativity as an original functionality of the mind, two key titles are stressed. One is the halting of the activity system; two, it is the inconsistency between the objective meanings sphere and the subjective sense-making sphere. Both titles represent the epistemological rupture embedded in the mainstream culture and praxis rooted in the internal contradictions of individualism and post-modernism as worldview and practices, leading the mind to close its eyes on the contradictions which are the crucial source of grasping the internal content (abstraction and generalization) of the given experience, hence, a crucial source of creativity. Thus, it is considered that not only creativity is in crisis, but also the coherence of the mind as well, as an extreme result of the shattered postmodern existence.
... We do not understand to what extent COVID testing and the period of uncertainty following testing impact children's QOL, but isolation after testing due to a positive or suspected COVID diagnosis likely results in a QOL utility decrease in parents and children [56,57]. There is minimal data regarding the impact of the COVID testing process itself or the impact of repeated testing, which many children experienced as they returned to childcare and school. ...
Globally, we have seen a drop in adult and child quality of life (QOL) during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, little is known about adult or child QOL during the height of the pandemic in Australia and the impact of government-imposed restrictions, specifically attending school on-site versus home schooling. Our study aimed to establish if QOL in children and parents presenting to a Respiratory Infection Clinic in Victoria, Australia, for COVID-19 PCR testing differed from pre-pandemic population norms. We also explored whether on-site versus home schooling further impacted QOL. Following the child’s test and prior to receiving results, consenting parents of children aged 6 to 17 years old completed the Child Health Utility 9 Dimension (CHU9D) instrument on their child’s behalf. Parents of children aged birth to five years completed the EuroQOL 5-Dimension 5-Level (EQ-5D-5L) instrument on their own behalf (cross-sectional study). Data analyses utilised quantile regression, adjusting for the child’s age, COVID-19 symptoms, gender and chronic health conditions. From July 2020 to November 2021, 2025 parents completed the CHU9D; the mean age for children was 8.41 years (±3.63 SD), and 48.4 per cent were female (n = 980/2025). In the same time period, 5751 parents completed the EQ-5D-5L; the mean age for children was 2.78 years (±1.74 SD), and 52.2 per cent were female (n = 3002/5751). Results showed that QOL scores were lower than pre-pandemic norms for 68 per cent of the CHU9D group and 60 per cent of the EQ-5D-5L group. Comparing periods of on-site to home schooling, there was no difference between the median QOL scores for both CHU9D (0.017, 95% CI −0.05 to 0.01) and EQ-5D-5L (0.000, 95% CI −0.002 to 0.002). Our large-scale study found that while QOL was reduced for children and parents at the point of COVID-19 testing during the pandemic, differing levels of government-imposed restrictions did not further impact QOL. These unique insights will inform decision-making in relation to COVID-19 and future pandemics.
... With the rising incidence of depression among adolescents, the suicide rate of middle school students also rises year by year 8 . Stressful life events, poor family environment, cruel sadness, excessive use of the internet lead to an increase of psychiatric disorders in adolescents, including anxiety and depression 9 . Globally, adolescents in different countries have experienced higher levels of stress, anxiety, and depression due to the pandemic 10 . ...
Abstract Depression is a common psychiatric disorder with high prevalence and mortality rates as well as high risk of serious harm in adolescents that have significant negative impact on families and society. The feeding inhibitor Nesfatin-1 contributes to the regulation of stress and emotion. The purpose of this project was to compare the differences in the levels of Nesfatin-1 between adolescents with depression and healthy adolescents, and verify the association between the levels of Nesfatin-1 and severity of depression in adolescents. Adolescents with depression (n = 61) and healthy adolescents (n = 30) were evaluated. The Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) was used to classify the adolescents with depression. Thirty-one and thirty-two was assigned to the mild-to-moderate (HAMD-17 ≤ 24) depression group and severe group (HAMD-17 > 24). Plasma Levels of Nesfatin-1 were measured by human ELISA Kit and differences among groups evaluated. Data were analyzed using the statistical software SPSS 23. HAMD-17 score was significantly higher in adolescents with depression than that in the healthy adolescents (P
... For example, the COVID-19 pandemic is associated with severe anxiety symptoms [5]. Some scholars have suggested that the spread of COVID-19 and the resulting obstructions could cause a negative impact on the mental health of adolescents [6]. The occurrence of public emergencies can generate stress responses in the general public. ...
Highlights This study found the defensive psychology and behavior in epidemic psychological stress will have different effects on anxiety in college students. The direct effect is that the higher the defensive psychology and behavior, the lower the anxiety. The indirect effect is that the higher the defensive psychology and behavior, the higher the terror, and the higher the anxiety. ARTICLE Abstract Objective: This study aimed to explore the effects of the different dimensions of psychological stress on the phobia and anxiety experienced by college students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Convenience sampling was employed to distribute a total of 169 questionnaires to college students from high incidence (Hubei Province) and low incidence (Anhui Province) areas. The study was conducted from May 17, 2020 to May 28, 2020. In this study, only Chinese non pregnant local college students who lived in Wuhan, Hubei province or Hefei, Anhui Province from December 2019 to may 2020 (i.e. during the pandemic) and could give informed consent were recruited. Results: The correlation coefficients between the variables were significant, and the path analysis model registered satisfactory fitness. The results revealed that panic (β = 0.40, P < 0.001) and defensiveness (β = −0.27, P < 0.01) had direct effects on anxiety. Defensiveness could also mediate anxiety through SCL-90 phobia (β = 0.15, P < 0.01), by contrast, the direct and indirect effects of defense reaction are not consistent. The direct effect has a negative impact on anxiety, while the indirect effect of terror has a positive impact on anxiety. Besides, cognition (β = −0.08, P < 0.05) could only affect anxiety through the complete mediating effect of SCL-90. Conclusion: In college students, the defensive psychology and behavior in epidemic psychological stress will have different effects on anxiety. The direct effect is that the higher the defensive psychology and behavior, the lower the anxiety. The indirect effect is that the higher the defensive psychology and behavior, the higher the terror, and the higher the anxiety.
... Transisi dari pembelajaran konvensional ke pembelajaran daring, dirasakan juga cukup mengganggu kehidupan mahasiswa dan pengajar dalam bannyak hal. Terutama bagi mahasiswa, diketahui dari hasil penelitian [9], menemukan bahwa 21% anak dan remaja tidak dapat memahami instruskti guru maupun dosen, 30 % anak anak dan remaja mengalami kesulitan memahami pelajaran dan 37% anak dan remaja tidak dapat mengelola waktu belajar mereka. Hasil tersebut didukung laporan dari Simpon Scarborough menemukan bahwa mahasiswa sebanyak 41 % memiliki pendapat yang buruk terhadap institusi mereka sejak pandemi. ...
... The increased contact from service users presenting with suicidal ideation and self-harms corresponds with the latter findings and suggests that though successful suicide attempts may not have increased, aborted attempts and suicidal ideation are likely to have increased during the pandemic. Previous research has shown that anxiety and depression symptoms increased amongst children and young people during the pandemic [49][50][51] , but is difficult to ascertain if only these two common mental health difficulties drive the increase in more specific mental health concerns for users in our study, and how those may have affected more to some than others. ...
The adoption of digital health technologies accelerated during Covid-19, with concerns over the equity of access due to digital exclusion. Using data from a text-based online mental health service for children and young people we explore the impact of the pandemic on service access and presenting concerns and whether differences were observed by sociodemographic characteristics in terms of access (gender, ethnicity and deprivation). We used interrupted time-series models to assess whether there was a change in the level and rate of service use during the Covid-19 pandemic (April 2020-April 2021) compared to pre-pandemic trends (June 2019-March 2020). Routinely collected data from 61221 service users were extracted for observation, those represented half of the service population as only those with consent to share their data were used. The majority of users identified as female (74%) and White (80%), with an age range between 13 and 20 years of age,. There was evidence of a sudden increase (13%) in service access at the start of the pandemic (RR 1.13 95% CI 1.02, 1.25), followed by a reduced rate (from 25% to 21%) of engagement during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic trends (RR 0.97 95% CI 0.95,0.98). There was a sudden increase in almost all presenting issues apart from physical complaints. There was evidence of a step increase in the number of contacts for Black/African/Caribbean/Black British (38% increase; 95% CI: 1%-90%) and White ethnic groups (14% increase; 95% CI: 2%-27%)), sudden increase in service use at the start of the pandemic for the most (58% increase; 95% CI: 1%-247%) and least (47% increase; 95% CI: 6%-204%) deprived areas. During the pandemic, contact rates decreased, and referral sources change at the start. Findings on access and service activity align with other studies observing reduced service utilization. The lack of differences in deprivation levels and ethnicity at lockdown suggests exploring equity of access to the anonymous service. The study provides unique insights into changes in digital mental health use during Covid-19 in the UK.
... Hospital workforce management plan: Staff who had been exposed to confirmed cases stayed in the confirmed case area for two weeks to provide care and implement infection control measures. If they tested negative after two weeks, they were rotated out and replaced by other staff members to ensure a streamlined workflow and preparation for a prolonged outbreak [26,27]. ...
This study investigated the causes and risks for infection spread in three psychiatric hospitals in Chung-buk, South Korea, to strategize measures to block transmission and prevent a large-scale epidemic. From December 2020 to January 2021, 358 inpatients of Psychiatric Hospitals A, B, and C were enrolled to identify the epidemiological characteristics of confirmed patients. Epidemic curves and propagation relationships were constructed and a genotype analysis was conducted. The index case inpatient from Hospital A transmitted the infection to patients in Hospitals B and C; the infection was confirmed in 47, 193, and 118 patients in Hospitals A, B, and C, respectively. The patient characteristics hampered communication and the close identification of symptom onset. The incidence rate was 10 (2.9%) among employees and 348 (35.8%) among inpatients. The relative risk was 12.1 (95% CI: 6.6–22.5) times higher among inpatients than employees. Next-generation sequencing confirmed the probable infection source as a genotype identical to that of two different outbreaks, although the infection spread was undetermined. Direct risk factors emerged from patient characteristics, wherein cohort isolation was meaningless due to uncontrolled communication. Indirect risk factors included hospital-specific problems due to external factors (non-patient system deficiencies or employee negligence). Prior inspections, a confirmation of non-infection, and institutional emergent measures are needed.
... Covid Student Stress Questionnaire was used to analyse the stress level faced by the students during the period of lockdown due to COVID 19. The questionnaire contains questions showing the difficulties a student had to face during the lockdown period such as the impact on the academic performance, interrelationship between the students and their teachers, relationship with their peer group and also relationship with the relatives and household members [4]. The study showed that the academic experience and the academic performance implied to be the most stressful factor during the lockdown period and the risk of contagion was the least stressful factor for the students. ...
Adolescence is a very crucial period during which biological and psychosocial changes occur. The appearance of certain health problems of an adolescent has an impact on the mental, social, and physical well-being while growing up. About one sixth of the global population and one fifth of Indian population are constituted by adolescents. This study focus on the stressful factors faced by the adolescents during the lockdown period of COVID 19. 80 adolescents were randomly selected and was asked to fill the Covid Student Stress Questionnaire through Google forms. The responses were collected and analysed. The study showed that more than 80% of the isolated adolescents faced anxiety issues during the period of isolation.
... Parents have reported increases in the difficulties associated with controlling their children's screen time and increased levels of concern related to the online risks to children (Ofcom, 2021). When adolescents spend more time using the internet, online risks and psychological distress increases (Deslandes & Coutinho, 2020;Guessoum et al., 2020). Parents play a crucial role in the use of the internet by their children. ...
COVID-19 has led to an increase in mental health problems for adolescents. In this study, we examined the factors related to the eHealth literacy of adolescents and how that impacted their pursuit of health information and mental health information online during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed data from the 2020 Taiwan Communication Survey, which involved a total of 1,250 national representative adolescents who completed an online questionnaire. The results showed that two-thirds of adolescents reported searching for health information online, and about half of them reported searching for mental health information online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multivariate analysis results indicated that adolescents who spent more time learning online, had higher levels of bonding social capital and self-determination, and had higher levels of parental active internet mediation were more likely to have higher levels of eHealth literacy. In addition, multivariate analysis results showed that adolescents who had higher levels of eHealth literacy and had higher depression and anxiety were more likely to seek health information and mental health information online. In conclusion, the levels of eHealth literacy and psychological distress of adolescents played a crucial role in their pursuit of health information and mental health information online during the COVID-19 pandemic.
... Students had to change their way to study from traditional face-to-face learning at school to online learning at home. Previous studies indicated that the shift in learning style during the COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on students' academic performance (1)(2)(3) and mental health status (4)(5)(6)(7). However, it is still unclear how would academic performance changes affect mental health among Chinese students. ...
Background
Although the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly changed the way students studied, it is still unknown about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students’ academic performance and mental health.Objective
To explore the academic performance and mental health status of middle and high school students after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in China.Methods
An online survey was conducted in Sichuan province, China from Dec 14, 2022 to Feb 28, 2023. All participants were students in middle and high schools, recruited via their teachers. The general information, COVID-19-related information, and academic performance were collected. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), and Internet Addiction Test (IAT) were used to assess the mental health problems.ResultsOf 60,268 participants, 36,247 (60.2%) middle and high school students reported that their studies were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and 24,864 (41.2%) reported that their academic performance had worsened. The prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms was 38.4 and 32.7%, respectively. There was a significant association between academic performance change and mental health problems. The logistic regression analysis showed that improved academic performance was a protective factor for depression, and declined academic performance was a risk factor for depression and anxiety. Being COVID-19 infected, family members being infected, with quarantine experience, and with COVID-19-related stigma were risk factors for depression and anxiety.Conclusion
Academic studies and mental health status of middle and high school students in Sichuan, China have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, even after the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. Students’ academic performance, academic concerns, and mental health status should be considered for educational policymakers and institutions to improve students’ academic studies and mental well-being.
... Emerging in 2019, COVID-19 became a globally significant public health threat officially in the spring of 2020 [12]. Although young people (without underlying health conditions) were at a low risk of serious and adverse health outcomes from the disease in 2020 [13,14], research has highlighted how pandemic restrictions (in the form of lockdowns and social distancing) led to adverse psychological and mental health effects for young people [15][16][17][18][19][20]. For instance, internationally, schools were forced to close [21], which led to increased social isolation [22] for children, adolescents, and emerging adults. ...
This empirical research is part of a larger project beginning in 2020 and ongoing until 2023, exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young caregivers aged 5-25 years and their families in Canada. This qualitative research utilizes the social determinants of health as a conceptual framework and a collective case study design to emphasize the voices and experiences of service providers (professionals offering services to young caregiver clients) during the COVID-19 pandemic, and exploring their perspectives on the impact of the pandemic on young caregivers and their families. The central research question guiding this study was "How do service providers (professionals) working with young caregiver clients in Canada describe the impacts of the pandemic on themselves, their professional praxis, and on their young caregiver clients?" The aim of this study was to develop a deeper understanding of the impact of the pandemic on young caregivers in Canada, from the perspectives of service providers, as well as to understand the experiences of service providers in their own voices. Data were collected from service providers working within three (3) different organizations offering programs and services to young caregiver clients in Ontario, Canada. In total, six (6) individual interviews were conducted with service providers who were directors/program managers, and four (4) group interviews were conducted with thirteen (13) service providers who were frontline staff members who worked directly with young caregivers and their families. In total, nineteen (n = 19) unique service providers participated in this study. Our findings point to two primary overarching themes, namely (1) service providers' responses to the pandemic and (2) observations by service providers about the impacts of the pandemic on young caregivers, and a secondary theme, (3) positive outcomes from the COVID-19 pandemic on young caregivers, that emerged through the analysis. The pandemic led to increased demands for services by young caregiver clients. Service providers were required to adapt their service delivery methods in order to comply with public health guidelines. They shared how their work impacted their mental health as they struggled to maintain personal and professional boundaries while working from home during the pandemic. Importantly, service providers identified similar, simultaneous, and co-occurring impacts of the pandemic between their young caregiver clients, including isolation, difficulties in navigating online spaces, and challenges in navigating boundaries while working from home with family members.
... However, the pandemic has likely played a role in the recent deterioration of young people's mental health and wellbeing due to the unprecedented disruption to their education, development, and daily lives (Biddle & Gray, 2022;Butterworth et al., 2022). Globally, COVID-19 lockdowns exacerbated feelings of isolation, with reports of increased rates of depression and anxiety during lockdowns (de Miranda et al., 2020;Guessoum et al., 2020;Loades et al., 2020). While these experiences may have been universal during the pandemic, they were particularly salient for young people in countries that implemented strict and ongoing lockdown measures, such as Australia (Stobart & Duckett, 2022). ...
Despite a strong body of evidence demonstrating the importance of school belonging across multiple measures of wellbeing and academic outcomes, many students still do not feel a sense of belonging to their school. Moreover, school closures caused by COVID-19 lockdowns have exacerbated challenges for developing a student’s sense of school belonging. The current study used closed- and open-ended survey questions to explore student perspectives of practices influencing belonging in a sample of 184 Australian secondary school students. Thematic analysis of student responses to open-ended survey questions yielded four themes related to teacher-level practices influencing student belonging: emotional support, support for learning, social connection, and respect, inclusion and diversity. The implications of these findings are discussed, and strategies are suggested for implementing these student-identified practices.
... Since individuals predisposed to psychological disorders may experience higher anxiety (Bagav, 2018), it is prudent to assert a possible relationship between one's mental well-being and test anxiety. The relevant literature host research exploring psychological projections among students preparing for exams and the impacts of the exam preparation process on burnout, anxiety, mood, and emotional reactions (Esposito et al., 2020;Guessoum et al., 2020;Van De Groep et al., 2020;Gazmararian et al., 2021;Green et al., 2021;Jones et al., 2021;Kang et al., 2021;O'sullivan et al., 2021;Qin et al., 2021;Tang et al., 2021). Nevertheless, the research interest seems to have missed the relationship between mental well-being and test anxiety among students, even in times of the COVID-19 pandemic. ...
Objective
The present study attempted to explore any potential association between test anxiety and mental well-being among high school students preparing for the university admission exam in times of the pandemic.
Methods
The sample of this correlational study consisted of 427 senior high school students in Caycuma district of Zonguldak, Turkey. The data were collected online using a demographic information form, the Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, and the Westside Test Anxiety Scale between April–May 2021.
Results
Our findings revealed student gender, paternal education, availability of a personal room and computer, and motivation for online classes to be factors associated with test anxiety. Besides, we discovered parental age, maternal education and employment, the device used for online classes, perceived effectiveness of distance education, and motivation for online classes to be linked with mental well-being among students.
Conclusion
In a nutshell, several factors were discovered to contribute to test anxiety, including student gender, paternal education, availability of a personal room and computer, and motivation for online classes. The findings also suggested some noteworthy factors influencing students’ mental well-being, such as parental age, maternal education and employment, the device used for online classes, perceived effectiveness of distance education, and motivation for online classes. Finally, we uncovered a significant negative association between the participating students’ test anxiety and mental well-being.
... Two years in, in 2022, Canada, like many parts of the world, continues to see rising inflation nationally, thus contributing to rising costs of food, gasoline, and housing, and thus placing significant strain on families who are already struggling financially, and in particular those from lower socio-economic backgrounds. This coincides with previous research findings exploring the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns and restrictions on the mental health of young people more broadly [46][47][48][49][50][51]. ...
This qualitative research study is a part of a larger research project exploring the experiences of young caregivers aged 5–26 years and their families navigating the COVID-19 pandemic between 2020 to 2023. Data were collected from 14 young caregivers who participated in baseline interviews. The central research question guiding this study: What was, is, and will be the impact of changing public health restrictions on young caregivers and their families during the pandemic and pandemic recovery? Seven themes emerged through analysis: (1) Navigating Care During the Height of Public Health Restrictions, (2) Neighbourhood and Built Environment During the Pandemic, (3) Perceptions Towards COVID-19 and Public Health Restrictions/Efforts, (4) The Impact of Public Health Restrictions on Relationships, (5) Mental Health Challenges of Being a Young Caregiver During a Pandemic, (6) Navigating Formal Services and Supports, and (7) Recommendations from Young Caregivers. The findings from this empirical research suggest that young caregivers found it easier to navigate their caregiving responsibilities when public health restrictions and work-from-home mandates were initially implemented; however, this later changed due to challenges in finding respite from caregiving, maintaining social connections with friends, creating personal space at home, and finding adequate replacements for programs once offered in person.
... Because of the control measures of the pandemic, children and young people have lost spaces of interaction, such as schools, among others, which has led to the detriment of their physical and mental wellbeing (1). Children and young are considered vulnerable populations, mainly in less favored countries (2) Early child development is part of the Sustainable Development Goals transformative plan for 2030, where Goal 4 states that all children should have the opportunity to reach their full developmental potential(3) Some factors, such as lack of cognitive stimulation, harsh parenting practices, and aggression in early childhood, maybe the cause of developmental delay later on, and, for that reason, interventions to prevent or reduce their potential damage are essential to improve the children's chances to thrive throughout their lives. (4) We have evidence-based interventions to improve early child development, such as cognitive stimulation and books. ...
La pandemia de COVID-19 ha afectado el desarrollo
infantil temprano. El desarrollo de la primera infancia es parte del
plan transformador para 2030, donde todos los niños deben tener la
oportunidad de alcanzar su pleno potencial de desarrollo. El uso de
libros podría tener beneficios en muchas áreas del desarrollo infantil,
más allá de las relacionadas con la lectoescritura, como se muestra
en la mayoría de los estudios.
Objetivo: Explorar las diversas áreas
del desarrollo de los niños, uso de libros y resumir la evidencia.
Materiales y método: Esta es una revisión de la literatura. Se
utilizaron las siguientes bases de datos para capturar el número más
importante de registros esenciales: PubMed, Medline, Scielo y
Lilacs. Las fuentes con documentos críticos de interés para esta
revisión se identificaron previamente, lo que influyó en la opción de
una revisión de la literatura de alcance amplio.
Resultados: Se
identificaron 468 estudios elegibles después de eliminar los
duplicados. De estos, 16 estudios fueron seleccionados para el
análisis final.
Interpretación: El uso de los libros representa una
herramienta rica en beneficios para estimular el correcto desarrollo
de los niños. Es una herramienta fundamental a considerar en
contextos de limitaciones de movilidad y cierre de escuelas
impuestas como medidas de protección durante la pandemia. Tanto
en los países de ingresos altos como medios, las intervenciones se
centran en los grupos de ingresos bajos o medios, lo que se
entiende como una respuesta a las preocupaciones sobre los
retrasos en el desarrollo de los niños. El uso de libros solos o en
conjunto con otros recursos beneficia a los niños; no se informó
ningún efecto adverso en la literatura. En un mundo globalizado
donde la tecnología es muy importante, los libros impresos siguen
siendo muy importantes en lugares donde la tecnología no se ha
puesto al día.
Palabras clave: Niños, Libros, Revisión de literatura, Educación,
Pandemia COVID-19.
... School closures increased young people's vulnerability to mental health problems, through reduced social interaction and physical activity, as well as increased screen time, irregular sleep patterns, and sub-optimal nutrition (especially in children for whom free school meals were an important source of nutrition [5], and in countries like France where the cost of fee-based school lunches was determined by family income [6]). These factors also negatively impacted children's well-being in the short and long terms [7][8][9][10][11]. Younger people had few resources and few prior life experiences to be able to deal with stressful situations like COVID-19 [12]. ...
Background
This study aimed to analyze the parental socio-demographic characteristics of children and adolescents aged 9 to 18 years old, as well as the living and housing conditions associated with the psychological distress in these two sub-populations during and after France’s first national COVID-19-related lockdown in spring 2020.
Methods
We used data from the cross-sectional, observational, web-based study CONFEADO, which collected data on children and adolescents’ living and housing conditions and socio-demographic characteristics as well as those of their parents. It also collected data on children’s and adolescents’ health behaviors and psychological distress. We assessed psychological distress using the 10-item Children and Adolescents Psychological Distress Scale (CAPDS-10), and performed a multinomial logistic regression.
Results
A total of 2882 children and adolescents were included in the present study. Factors associated with moderate psychological distress included being a female, parental financial difficulties, a lack of a private living space at home for the child/adolescent, and the following child health behaviors: no leisure or recreational activities with adults in the household, doing less than one hour of school homework a day, and not going outside during the lockdown. Severe psychological distress was associated with the parent’s occupation (especially essential frontline workers), a lack of a private living space at home for the child/adolescent, and the following child health behaviors: spending over 5 h a day on social media, doing less than one hour of school homework a day, and no leisure or recreational activities with adults in the household.
Conclusions
This study emphasizes the impact of housing and living conditions, as well as parents’ socio-economic characteristics on children’s health behaviors and psychological needs during the first COVID-19-related lockdown in France. Our results suggest that health policies implemented during future pandemics should consider these structural social determinants to prevent severe psychological distress in children and adolescents.
... Estudios antecedentes demuestran que un largo periodo de confinamiento durante una pandemia puede tener efectos negativos en la salud física y mental de los individuos (Guessoum et al., 2020). Particularmente los estudiantes universitarios parecen ser los más susceptibles a los efectos negativos del aislamiento social (Wathelet et al., 2020 Estrada et al. (2021), también estudiaron este fenómeno, y además de encontrar que los alumnos presentan altos niveles de estrés académico, encontraron que el estrés está asociado con el sexo, el grupo etario y el año de estudios. ...
El artículo presenta un diseño no experimental, transversal, comparativo y explicativo para identificar los factores determinantes del estrés académico, la ansiedad y la depresión en estudiantes de la Facultad de Economía de la Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León. La muestra está constituida por 350 estudiantes, 142 mujeres y 208 hombres. Se implementó un inventario de estrés y de escalas de ansiedad y depresión para evaluar personalidad. Se compararon medias de las principales variables e implementó regresión lineal múltiple. Los resultados sugieren que ser alumnos de nuevo ingreso se vinculó con mayor sintomatología de depresión y menor presencia de estresores. No se encontró que modalidad de inicio de estudios afectara la manifestación de síntomas de ansiedad, no obstante, diversas variables socioeconómicas inciden en la salud mental. Los resultados dan pauta a futuras líneas de atención y prevención de afecciones de salud metal en estudiantes que gestionan su aprendizaje de manera virtual.
... Especially with the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact of mental disorder has been further exacerbated. Guessoum, S.B., et al. (2020) found that the prevalence of mental disorders among adolescents associated with the COVID-19 pandemic has increased signi cantly 5 , and mental disorders, including depression, anxiety (ANX), bipolar disorders (BD), etc., caused by this pandemic have led to signi cant increases in suicide rates 6 . Although the etiology of most mental disorders is still unclear, many studies have con rmed that the development of mental disorders is in uenced by hundreds of different gene variants 7 , and in ammation and the release of in ammatory cytokines can affect a person's mood and lead to the development of mental disorders. ...
Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) onset is often accompanied by psychiatric symptoms. In this study, two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) was used to explore the genetic associations between AS and mental disorders. In this study, AS was regarded as exposure, and 36 mental disorders were regarded as outcomes. All the data were from the 7th version of the FinnGen GWAS summary data. Inverse-variance weighted (IVW), MR‒Egger regression, weight median, simple mode, and weight mode methods were used to determine the genetic associations. The Cochrane Q test, Egger-intercept test, MR pleiotropy residual sum and outlier, and leave-one-out tests were performed for sensitivity tests. The IVW results showed that AS was positively associated with autism, insomnia, depression, bipolar disorder, delirium, anankastic personality disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, anxious personality disorder, and mental and behavioral disorders due to opioids, hallucinogens, sedatives or hypnotics; AS was inversely associated with schizophrenia, persistent delusional disorder, and sexual dysfunction. The sensitivity tests showed these results were stable and robust. This study provides a theoretical basis for the early diagnosis of common mental disorders in patients with AS. It also provides evidence for the impact of inflammation on the central nervous system.
... Considering the continuity of COVID-19 stages, its magnitude, variable course, and the vulnerability of young adult university students, especially women, it is crucial to study the characteristics of coping strategies. This research is essential to ensure appropriate and necessary psychological support for individuals who are infected, those in conditions with potential for infection, and those in the recovery phase [18,19]. It is widely recognized that the health, well-being, and social mood of students reflect the level of wellness, social stability, and overall life satisfaction within society as a whole [20]. ...
Background: Studying anxiety, stress, and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic is crucial to mitigate the negative effects associated with infection risk and disease consequences. Objective: This study aimed to investigate anxiety levels, stress perception, and coping strategies in relation to the presence of illness. Material and Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted anonymously among 3950 university students from Poland (1822), Lithuania (232), and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad (1896). Due to the nearly identical application of anti-epidemic measures, the respondents were treated as a unified group. The State-trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), Perceived Stress Scale 10 (PSS-10), and mini-COPE scale questionnaires were used. Statistical analysis included the Shapiro–Wilk test to check normality, the Mann–Whitney U test for comparative analysis between groups, the Pearson χ2 test for categorical data, and Spearman coefficients for correlations between variables. Results: A significant proportion of young adults in the community exhibited symptoms of anxiety and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. Among the 1212 men and 2738 women surveyed, 348 (28.7%) and 1020 (37.3%) individuals, respectively, were diagnosed with COVID-19 according to clinical protocols. Prolonged disease duration and more severe residual symptoms correlated with higher self-reported anxiety levels. Conclusions: The level of anxiety and stress varied depending on the duration of the disease, significantly impacting the choice of coping strategies. Overall, students displayed a proactive approach to coping activities but tended to postpone important decisions. Seeking social support was a prevalent coping mechanism, although respondents who had COVID-19 showed higher levels of concern for their own emotions, a tendency to discharge emotions through alcohol or other substances (male), and a greater reliance on religion (female). The study provides data that may be useful in developing educational and health policies focused on the mental well-being of university students and potentially other social groups.
The COVID-19 pandemic experience had a major impact on adolescents’ relational lives. The abrupt change in habits led adolescents to revise their relationships with respect to family, friends, and school; they suffered greatly because of this but, at the same time, were able to discover new resources and possibilities. The present paper aims to give adolescents a voice by exploring their experiences of the change that the pandemic period brought about in their life and significant relationships as well as by examining whether quarantine and social isolation provided opportunities for personal growth and transformation. The participants were 66 adolescents (between 16 and 19 years old). A qualitative method was adopted with a semi-structured interview that investigated changes in the main relational areas. The results offer an insight into the lives of adolescents during the lockdown in Italy, allowing us to “hear their voice.” The results highlight the adolescents’ struggle to cope with the change, suffering from the many limitations but also experiencing increased self-awareness, reflectivity, and responsibility.
This paper aimed to explore the potential factors of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on Chinese undergraduates’ psychological distress (PD), as well as the moderating impact of coping styles and social support in this relationship. 5638 Chinese college students in Chengdu were randomly selected for an online survey. 10-item Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10), the Simplified Coping Style Questionnaire (SCSQ) and the Social Support Rating Scale (SSRS) were used in this paper. In SPSS 17, one-way ANOVA, multiple linear regression and 95% confidence were used to observe the relationship between sociodemographic characteristics, COVID-19 exposure, coping styles, social support and PD of college students. The PD prevalence rate of our sample during the pandemic was 45.5%. Males, students with a romantic relationship, those spending more time on COVID-19, worrying about getting infected, those whose cohabitants were nervous about COVID-19, higher scores of negative coping style, lower positive coping style and social support scores had a higher risk of experiencing PD. The relationship between the nervousness of cohabitants about COVID-19 and the occurrence of PD was moderated by positive coping. Based on the serious psychological condition of Chinese college students during COVID-19. There is an urgent need to enhance the positive coping styles of college students, and systematic support for their mental health is crucial. This article provides theoretical research guidance for students and schools to further prevent and intervene in PD among college students.
Since December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been rapidly spreading worldwide and affecting the physical and mental health of the general population. It may have even more serious potential harm to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This paper provides a literature review on the psychological and behavioral problems experienced by children with ASD during the COVID-19 epidemic, as well as the factors influencing these issues. The findings of this review can serve as a basis for clinical research on ASD children.
Bu araştırmada ortaokul ve lise öğrencilerinin internet ve akıllı telefon bağımlılık düzeyleri ile psikolojik iyi oluşları arsındaki ilişkide yalnızlığın aracılık rolü incelenmiştir. Araştırmanın çalışma grubunu 538 ortaokul ve lise öğrencisi oluşturmaktadır. Veriler; Demografik Bilgi Formu, Young İnternet Bağımlılığı Ölçeği Kısa Formu, Akıllı Telefon Bağımlılığı Ölçeği-Kısa Formu, UCLA Yalnızlık Ölçeği ve Stirling Çocuklar İçin Duygusal ve Psikolojik İyi Oluş Ölçeği ile toplanmıştır. Verilerin analizinde pearson korelasyon ve yapısal eşitlik modeli (YEM) analiz tekniklerinden yararlanılmıştır. Korelasyon analizi sonucuna göre, psikolojik iyi oluş ile internet bağımlılığı, akıllı telefon bağımlılığı ve yalnızlık arasında negatif yönde; internet bağımlılığı ile akıllı telefon bağımlılığı ve yalnızlık arasında ve akıllı telefon bağımlılığı ile yalnızlık arasında pozitif yönde anlamlı ilişkiler vardır. İnternet bağımlılığının dışsal değişken olduğu 1. modelin YEM analizi sonucuna göre internet bağımlılığı ile psikolojik iyi oluş arasındaki ilişkide yalnızlık kısmi aracı rol üstlenmektedir. Akıllı telefon bağımlılığının dışsal değişken olduğu 2. modelin analiz sonuçlarına göre yalnızlığın akıllı telefon bağımlılığı ile psikolojik iyi oluş arasındaki ilişkide kısmi aracılık rolü üstlendiği belirlenmiştir. Sonuçlar literatür ışığında tartışılmıştır.
Psychotic disorder diseases (PDD) or mental illnesses are group of illnesses that affect the minds and impair the cognitive ability, retard emotional ability and obstruct the process of communication and relationship with others and are characterized by delusions, hallucinations and disoriented or disordered pattern of thinking. Prognosis of PDD is not sufficient because of the nature of the diseases and as such adequate form of diagnosis is required to detect, manage and treat the illness. This paper applied the single-label classification (SLC) machine learning approach in mining of electronic health records of people with PDD in Nigeria using eleven independent (demographic) variables and five PDD as target variables. The five PDDs are Insomnia, Schizophrenia, Minimal Brain dysfunction (MBD), which is also known as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Vascular Dementia (VD) and Bipolar Disorder (BD). The aim of using SLC is that it would be easier to detect some PDDs that are related to each other without the loss of information, which is a plus over multi-label classification (MLC). ReliefF algorithm was used at each experiment to precipitate the order of importance of the independent variables and redundant variables were excluded from the analysis. The order of the variables in feature selection was matched with feature importance after the classifications and quantified using the Spearman rank correlation coefficient. The data was divided into: 70% for training and 30% for testing. Four new performance metrics adapted from the root mean square (RMSE) were proposed and used to measure the differences between the performance results of the 10 Machine learning models in terms of the training and testing and secondly, feature and without feature selection. The new metrics are close to zero which is an indication that the use of feature selection and cross validation may not greatly affects the accuracy of the SLC. When the PDDs are included as predictors for classifying others, there was a tremendous improvement as revealed by the four new metrics for classification accuracy (CA), precision and recall. Analysis of variance showed the four different metrics differs significantly for classification accuracy (CA) and precision. However, there were no significant difference between the CA and precision when the duo are compared together across the four evaluation metrics at p value less than 0.05.
Background
Youth mental health has declined since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Health coaching and mindfulness-based intervention may support therapeutic processes that promote resilience in the face of risk factors for adverse mental health outcomes. Building Resilience for Healthy Kids (HK) is a school-based intervention designed to support mental health through targeting these processes.
Objective
In this study, we tested HK in a pilot randomized controlled trial. Specifically, we examined intervention effects on the theoretically-informed therapeutic processes of emotion regulation, mindfulness, self-efficacy, and resilience and the clinical outcomes of depression and anxiety symptoms. The trial took place between April and June 2021, offering an opportunity to assess the impact of HK in the context of COVID-19.
Methods
Participants were early adolescents (N = 230), randomized to HK or assessment-only. Participants in the intervention condition received weekly one-on-one sessions with health coaches. All youth completed validated self-report measures at baseline and post-intervention.
Results
Linear mixed effects models indicated that participants who received HK had a greater reduction in emotion regulation difficulties, relative to assessment-only controls (d = 0.84, large effect). Follow-up analyses revealed that youth who endorsed negative affectivity at baseline experienced more benefits than those who did not, and youth who attended more HK sessions increased in self-efficacy, in addition to improved emotion regulation. Intervention effects did not reach significance for other outcomes.
Conclusions
Findings suggest that HK may support youth in reducing difficulties in emotion regulation, which are precursors to the development of mental health concerns in adolescence.
TRN
NCT04202913, 12/16/2019.
The incidence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Traumatized adolescents might cope with maladaptive strategies such as increased Internet usage, which might be a risk for cyber victimization. We investigated the relationship between self-reported PTSD and cyber victimization and the mediator role of school belongingness in this relationship. The sample consisted of 292 adolescents ages 11-14 years old (M = 12.53, SD = 0.71; nfemale = 165, 56.1%; nmale = 129, 43.9%). Results show that males are more likely to be cyber victims and have lower levels of school belongingness than females. In addition, results supported the association between higher levels of PTSD and higher levels of cyber victimization. Traumatized adolescents with high levels of school belongingness are less likely to be cyber victims. These findings highlight the importance of school-related personal and relational characteristics in promoting adolescent mental health.
Background:
Internet addiction is an emergent health hazard among adolescents, especially after COVID19. Parenting factors in a family environment specifically, have potential roles in either causing excessive internet usage, or in protecting teenagers from internet addiction.
Aim:
The aim of the study was to understand factors in parent-adolescent relationship that determine low and excessive internet usage.
Methods:
A total of 102 adolescents within the age group of 13 to 18 years from two different schools in urban Bengaluru, India were recruited. Data was collected using three instruments namely semi structured tool to assess socio-demographic characteristics, Young's internet addiction test for internet usage and parental bonding instrument for adolescent perception about parenting dimensions.
Results:
Half of the participants were found to have mild to severe levels of internet addiction, and the remaining half had normal levels of internet usage. The results showed that decreased care and increased control from the mother, high autonomy from father and increased rejection from both parents as risk factors associated with adolescent internet excessive use. No other significant associations were found between adolescents' demographic, academic, peer and school profile and their internet addiction.
Conclusion:
As internet has become an inevitable part of our life, parent-adolescent relationship forms an essential moderating factor in adolescents' internet usage.
Objective:
This study examined the effect of COVID-19 restrictions on the sleep and sleep hygiene of adolescents with ADHD and comorbid sleep problems and neurotypical adolescents (NT).
Method:
Four groups (two ADHD and two NT) of in total 100 adolescents (50 ADHD and 50 NT) were included. One ADHD and NT group were tested during many COVID-19 restrictions, the other during few. MANCOVAs were implemented with ADHD diagnosis and level of COVID-19 restrictions as independent and sleep outcomes (subjective and objective total sleep time (TST) and sleep onset latency (SOL), sleep and sleep hygiene problems) as dependent variables.
Results:
Both groups had a shorter objective TST during the week during many COVID-19 restrictions. Furthermore, adolescents with ADHD had a shorter subjective SOL during the weekend when there were many COVID-19 restrictions, while the SOL of the NT group stayed the same.
Conclusion:
COVID-19 restrictions are related to the sleep of adolescents with and without ADHD. However, causality and underlying mechanisms need further investigation.
Background
Chinese people experienced a nationwide coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic after the adjustment of epidemic response policies from December 2022 to January 2023. This study aims to explore the prevalence of mental and cognitive symptoms and their associated factors among medical students after the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted between February 27th and March 8th, 2023. The symptoms of anxiety, depression, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and cognitive function among medical students were examined using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7), the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), the Athens Insomnia Scale (AIS), the Impact of Event Scale-6 (IES-6), and the Perceived Deficits Questionnaire-Depression-5 (PDQ-D-5). Data on demographic information was also collected. Statistical analyses were conducted to describe the prevalence and explore the associated factors of mental and cognitive symptoms.
Results
Among 947 participants, the proportion of students experiencing anxiety, depression, insomnia, and PTSD symptoms was 37.8, 39.3, 28.3, and 29.5%, respectively. The self-reported COVID-19 infection rate was 72.2%. Higher grades, childhood, and current rural residence were identified as potential risk factors for mental and cognitive symptoms. Gender, age, average monthly household income, and COVID-19 diagnosis were not associated with mental and cognitive symptoms among medical students.
Conclusion
Our findings revealed a high prevalence of mental and cognitive symptoms among Chinese medical students after the COVID-19 pandemic. Special attention should be paid to the mental health of higher-grade students and those residing in rural areas.
Coping intelligently with global public mental health threats means resolving challenges at an individual and societal level by efficiently utilizing professional expertise and critical thinking. Philosophical underpinning of coping with pandemic and infodemic stress approach facilitates clarity regarding the course of public mental health actions to navigate immediate and forthcoming complex situations, such as those arising from the global crisis caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2 and coronavirus disease (COVID-19). To cope efficiently with global challenges, professional public mental health communities need to promote a culture of awareness and preparedness for pandemic, as well as infodemic including global spread of distorted news, false information, and statistical simulations based on biased expert opinions. Indeed, evidence suggests that during a pandemic, the general public, politicians, medical experts, and governments are vulnerable to deepfakes, such as deliberate misinformation, and public mental health risks involving fear, panic, xenophobic attitudes (e.g., scapegoating), and racial biases.
Further, societal responses demonstrate that damage caused by the widespread infodemic exceeds the pandemic’s biomedical impact. For example, mass fear and anxiety instilled by confusion and distrust in the ability to cope with a crisis on an individual and group level results in negative impacts to mental health. The emergency situation caused by pandemic will pass, but the psychosocial consequences will remain long-term, and their impact on human lives will depend on our efforts to build personal and societal adequate expertise based on coping intelligence and resilience, in addressing unforeseen challenges.
The aim of this collection of research papers was to provide a unique opportunity for an interdisciplinary article collection that welcomes contributions from public mental health professionals, psychologists, sociologists, epidemiologists, science methodologists, philosophers, AI researchers, and digital mass media experts. The goal is to share conceptual insights and practical guidelines to develop successful mental health coping strategies during times of uncertainty and global challenges. Specifically, this Research Topic will focus on successful coping strategies in the area of public mental health implemented at any level - individual, national, regional, and global.
Low and middle-income countries have a greater risk of living in poverty, being exposed to violence, and being serviced by precarious health systems. The COVID-19 pandemic and implementation of mitigation strategies have exacerbated these conditions of vulnerability. COVID-19 led to an increase in prevalence and awareness of existing mental health problems and healthcare gaps. Children and adolescents' mental health worsened as the pandemic progressed; their daily routines and development opportunities were affected mainly by school closures, limited peer interaction, and changed family dynamics. Understanding how various vulnerabilities can position children and adolescents at greater risk of developing a mental illness, partly because of their neuropsychological immaturity, should be a priority in this population given psychological stressors such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background and hypothesis:
Psychiatric disorders impose a huge health and economic burden on modern society. However, there is currently no proven completely effective treatment available, partly owing to the inefficiency of drug target identification and validation. We aim to identify therapeutic targets relevant to psychiatric disorders by conducting Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.
Study design:
We performed genome-wide MR analysis by integrating expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) of 4479 actionable genes that encode druggable proteins and genetic summary statistics from genome-wide association studies of psychiatric disorders. After conducting colocalization analysis on the brain MR findings, we employed protein quantitative trait loci (pQTL) data as genetic proposed instruments for intersecting the colocalized genes to provide further genetic evidence.
Study results:
By performing MR and colocalization analysis with eQTL genetic instruments, we obtained 31 promising drug targets for psychiatric disorders, including 21 significant genes for schizophrenia, 7 for bipolar disorder, 2 for depression, 1 for attention deficit and hyperactivity (ADHD) and none for autism spectrum disorder. Combining MR results using pQTL genetic instruments, we finally proposed 8 drug-targeting genes supported by the strongest MR evidence, including gene ACE, BTN3A3, HAPLN4, MAPK3 and NEK4 for schizophrenia, gene NEK4 and HAPLN4 for bipolar disorder, and gene TIE1 for ADHD.
Conclusions:
Our findings with genetic support were more likely to be to succeed in clinical trials. In addition, our study prioritizes approved drug targets for the development of new therapies and provides critical drug reuse opportunities for psychiatric disorders.
Importance:
Psychiatric boarding occurs when patients needing intensive psychiatric services who are already under clinical supervision experience delays in their admission to psychiatric facilities. Initial reports have suggested that the US had a psychiatric boarding crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, little is known about the consequences of this crisis for publicly insured youths.
Objective:
To estimate pandemic-associated changes in psychiatric boarding rates and discharge modalities for people aged 4 to 20 years who accessed psychiatric emergency services (PES) through a mobile crisis team (MCT) evaluation and were covered by Medicaid or health safety net programs.
Design, setting, and participants:
This retrospective cross-sectional study used data from the MCT encounters of a multichannel PES program in Massachusetts. A total of 7625 MCT-initiated PES encounters with publicly insured youths who lived in Massachusetts between January 1, 2018, and August 31, 2021, were assessed.
Main outcomes and measures:
Encounter-level outcomes (psychiatric boarding status, repeat visits, and discharge disposition) during a prepandemic period (January 1, 2018, to March 9, 2020) were compared with outcomes during a pandemic period (March 10, 2020, to August 31, 2021). Descriptive statistics and multivariate regression analysis were used.
Results:
Among 7625 MCT-initiated PES encounters, the mean (SD) age of publicly insured youths was 13.6 (3.7) years; most youths identified as male (3656 [47.9%]), were of Black race (2725 [35.7%]) or Hispanic ethnicity (2708 [35.5%]), and spoke English (6941 [91.0%]). During the pandemic period, the mean monthly boarding encounter rate was 25.3 percentage points higher than the prepandemic period. After adjustment for covariates, the odds of an encounter resulting in boarding doubled during the pandemic (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.03; 95% CI, 1.82-2.26; P < .001), and boarding youths were 64% less likely to be discharged to inpatient psychiatric care (AOR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.31-0.43; P < .001). Publicly insured youths who boarded during the pandemic had significantly higher rates of 30-day readmissions (incidence rate ratio, 2.17; 95% CI, 1.88-2.50; P < .001). Boarding encounters during the pandemic were significantly less likely to end in discharge to inpatient psychiatric units (AOR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.31-0.43; P < .001) or community-based acute treatment facilities (AOR, 0.70; 95% CI, 0.55-0.90; P = .005).
Conclusions and relevance:
In this cross-sectional study, publicly insured youths were more likely to experience psychiatric boarding during the COVID-19 pandemic and, if boarding, were less likely to transfer to a 24-hour level of care. These findings suggest that psychiatric service programs for youths were not prepared to support the levels of acuity and demand that emerged from the pandemic.
This study explored the impacts of COVID-19 on the mental health (MH)-related visits to general practices (GPs) among children and young people (CYP) up to 18 years of age in Australia. This study analysed national-level data captured by the NPS MedicineWise program on monthly CYP MH-related visits per 10,000 visits to GPs from January 2014 to September 2021. We considered the pre-COVID-19 period (January 2014-February 2020) and the COVID-19 period (March 2020-September 2021). We used a Bayesian structural time series (BSTS) model to estimate the impact of COVID-19 on MH-related GP visits per 10,000 visits. A total of 103,813 out of 7,690,874 visits to GP (i.e., about 135 per 10,000 visits) were related to MH during study period. The BSTS model showed a significant increase in the overall MH-related visits during COVID-19 period (33%, 95% Credible Interval (Crl) 8.5%-56%), particularly, visits related to depressive disorders (61%, 95% Crl 29%-91%). The greatest increase was observed among females (39%, 95% Crl 12%-64%) and those living in socioeconomically least disadvantaged areas (36%, 95% Crl 1.2-71%). Our findings highlight the need for resources to be directed towards at-risk CYP to improve MH outcomes and reduce health system burden.
Purpose:
This study aimed to investigate the relationship between adolescents' character strengths and quality of life during the COVID-19 lockdown and to further explore the role of strengths use and perceived threats.
Method:
A total of 804 adolescents from Wuhan, China were recruited to complete an online survey. The data collection was conducted between April and May 2020, during the lockdown of Wuhan due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which resulted in the suspension of school attendance for adolescents and the transition to online teaching. Mini Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Mini-Q-LES-Q) was used to measure adolescents' quality of life, while their character strengths, strengths use, and perceived threats were measured using the Three-Dimensional Inventory of Character Strengths (TICS), the Chinese version Strengths Use Scale (SUS) and Perceived threats of COVID-19 questionnaire.
Results:
The results of the study indicated that adolescents' character strengths could positively affect their quality of life, and strengths use played a partially mediating role, while the moderating effect of perceived threats was not significant.
Discussion and conclusions:
In the face of persistent pandemic effects or other similar stressful events in the future, the development of adolescents' character strengths and strengths use can effectively improve adolescents' quality of life, which provides a theoretical reference for future social work intervention.
Importance: As COVID-19 spreads across the world, it is critical to understand the psychological factors associated with pandemic-related behaviors. This may be especially important to study among youth, who are less likely to experience severe symptoms but contribute to the spread of the virus.
Objective: To examine psychological factors associated with adolescents’ behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Design: Self-report survey conducted between March 20th and March 22nd, 2020.
Setting: This is an online survey study of youth from the United States.
Participants: A population-based sample of adolescents were recruited via social media to complete an anonymous survey. Youth were eligible if they had internet access, lived in the United States, and were between the ages of 13 and 18.
Main Outcomes and Measures: Outcomes included COVID-19 news monitoring, social distancing, disinfecting, and hoarding behaviors the 7 days after the US declared a national emergency. The psychological factors were attitudes about COVID-19 severity, social responsibility values, social trust, and self-interest. The a priori hypotheses were that attitudes about the severity of COVID-19, greater social responsibility, and greater social trust would be associated with greater news monitoring, social distancing, and disinfecting, whereas greater self-interest would be associated with more hoarding.
Results: The sample included 770 adolescents collected via convenience sampling (Mage=16.34, 75% female). Many teens reported not engaging in pure social distancing (69%; n=528), but were monitoring the news (89%; n=688) and disinfecting daily (88%; n=676). Some teens reported hoarding (20%; n=152). Attitudes that COVID-19 were more severe were associated with more social distancing (β=.18; 95%CI=.10,.25), disinfecting (β=.16; 95%CI=.08,.23), and news monitoring (β=.26; 95%CI=.18,.33), but also more hoarding (β=.08; 95%CI=.01,.16). Greater social responsibility was associated with more disinfecting (β=.24; 95%CI=.17,.32) and news monitoring (β=.14; 95%CI=.07,.22), but less hoarding (β=-.07; 95%CI=-.14,-.01). Greater self-interest values were associated with less social distancing (β=-.08; 95%CI=-.15,-.01) and more hoarding (β=.08; 95%CI=.01,.15). Greater social trust was associated with less hoarding (β=-.09; 95%CI=-.16,-.02).
Conclusions and Relevance: Emphasizing the severity of COVID-19 and the social implications of pandemic-related behaviors may be important for teens, particularly for those who are not following preventative health behaviors or who are engaging in hoarding.
As in other European countries, the current Covid-19 pandemic has not only massively restricted normal life in Germany, it is also having a significant effect on medical treatment, particularly in the areas of child and adolescent psychiatric care, as well as on university teaching. The federal structure of Germany and epidemiological differences between individual federal states has had a crucial impact on the regulations issued and their success. During the last number of weeks, tele-child-psychiatry and psychotherapy have increased, and outpatient services have been used cautiously and sparingly. Medical staff numbers will be augmented by doctors and nurses returning from retirement and also by medical students on a voluntary basis. The federal government has warned that discrepancies in education will increase due to the closure of schools. Questions of child protection are currently of particular importance in the context of such closures and the non-availability of day-care centres.
Psychological health problems, especially emotional disorders, are common among adolescents. The epidemiology of emotional disorders is greatly influenced by stressful events. This study sought to assess the prevalence rate and socio-demographic correlates of depressive and anxiety symptoms among Chinese adolescents affected by the outbreak of COVID-19. We conducted a cross-sectional study among Chinese students aged 12–18 years during the COVID-19 epidemic period. An online survey was used to conduct rapid assessment. A total of 8079 participants were involved in the study. An online survey was used to collect demographic data, assess students’ awareness of COVID-19, and assess depressive and anxiety symptoms with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) questionnaire, respectively. The prevalence of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and a combination of depressive and anxiety symptoms was 43.7%, 37.4%, and 31.3%, respectively, among Chinese high school students during the COVID-19 outbreak. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that female gender was the higher risk factor for depressive and anxiety symptoms. In terms of grades, senior high school was a risk factor for depressive and anxiety symptoms; the higher the grade, the greater the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Our findings show there is a high prevalence of psychological health problems among adolescents, which are negatively associated with the level of awareness of COVID-19. These findings suggest that the government needs to pay more attention to psychological health among adolescents while combating COVID-19.
Though necessary to slow the spread of the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19), actions such as social-distancing, sheltering in-place, restricted travel, and closures of key community foundations are likely to dramatically increase the risk for family violence around the globe. In fact many countries are already indicating a dramatic increase in reported cases of domestic violence. While no clear precedent for the current crisis exists in academic literature, exploring the impact of natural disasters on family violence reports may provide important insight for family violence victim-serving professionals. Improving collaborations between human welfare and animal welfare agencies, expanding community partnerships, and informing the public of the great importance of reporting any concerns of abuse are all critical at this time.
Our public pediatric tertiary hospital in Singapore has been a part of a robust public heath response to COVID-19 that has been calibrated in a timely manner to the evolving international situation. As of mid-March, Singapore remains in a containment mode with enhanced surveillance and limited community spread. Within this context, our service for pediatric eating disorder care has had to make significant adaptations to our models of service delivery as well as respond to the changing psychosocial needs of our patients. Given infection control requirements, we have instituted modular staffing for our inpatient and outpatient settings, necessitating task shifting and an increased use of technology for communication. Due to reduced outpatient capacity and the need to minimize non-urgent trips to the hospital, we have implemented telemedicine and have leveraged on partnerships with school counselors and other community partners. “Coronaphobia” has influenced our patients’ willingness to attend visits and worsened existing health anxiety for some. Responsiveness to families’ and patients’ health and financial concerns has been essential. As COVID-19 impacts more countries, our institution’s experience can provide insight into challenges and possible adaptations to providing ongoing care for eating disorder patients in this environment.
Objectif :
L’absence de préparation du système de soins psychiatriques à l’épidémie de virus SARS-CoV-2 fait redouter un scénario pessimiste pour la santé physique et mentale des patients suivis en psychiatrie. L’objectif de cet article est de proposer des éléments de guidance pour réorganiser les soins psychiatriques dans le contexte de pandémie COVID-19.
Méthode :
Les auteurs ont réalisé une synthèse de la littérature internationale combinée au partage des expériences locales françaises.
Résultats :
Les patients souffrant de troubles psychiques semblent particulièrement vulnérables à ce virus et à la pandémie : vulnérabilités liées aux comorbidités médicales, à l’âge, aux troubles cognitifs qui peuvent entraver le respect des consignes de confinement, et aux complications psychosociales. Plusieurs initiatives ont été prises pour assurer la continuité des soins et contenir l’épidémie : création en psychiatrie d’unité COVID+ co-supervisée par des médecins généralistes ou internistes, restriction des consultations aux cas sévères et redéploiement des soins en téléconsultation, accompagnement de type case-management pour les sorties précoces ou l’impossibilité d’hospitaliser, accompagnements spécifiques pour les complications psychiques du confinement. Les populations suivies en pédopsychiatrie, en psychiatrie du sujet âgé, en addictologie ou détenues en prison doivent bénéficier d’une attention particulière. Plusieurs questions restent en suspend : la question de l’interaction négative ou positive des traitements sur l’infection SARS-CoV-2, l’épidémiologie de l’infection chez les personnes souffrant de troubles psychiques, leur adaptation à un confinement long.
Discussion :
Une prise de conscience par les décideurs politiques de la grande vulnérabilité de ces populations et des institutions psychiatriques dans cette situation de catastrophe sanitaire est urgente.
When people are forced to be isolated from one another, do they crave social interactions in the same way a hungry person craves food? To address this question, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to measure neural responses in participants (n=40) evoked by food and social cues after ten hours of mandated fasting or total social isolation. After isolation, people felt lonely and craved social interaction. Midbrain regions showed increased activation to food cues after fasting and to social cues after isolation; these responses were correlated with self-reported craving. Neural patterns in response to food cues when participants were hungry generalized to social cues after isolation. Our results support the intuitive idea that acute isolation causes social craving, similar to hunger.
COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) has significantly resulted in a large number of psychological consequences. The aim of this study is to explore the impacts of COVID-19 on people’s mental health, to assist policy makers to develop actionable policies, and help clinical practitioners (e.g., social workers, psychiatrists, and psychologists) provide timely services to affected populations. We sample and analyze the Weibo posts from 17,865 active Weibo users using the approach of Online Ecological Recognition (OER) based on several machine-learning predictive models. We calculated word frequency, scores of emotional indicators (e.g., anxiety, depression, indignation, and Oxford happiness) and cognitive indicators (e.g., social risk judgment and life satisfaction) from the collected data. The sentiment analysis and the paired sample t-test were performed to examine the differences in the same group before and after the declaration of COVID-19 on 20 January, 2020. The results showed that negative emotions (e.g., anxiety, depression and indignation) and sensitivity to social risks increased, while the scores of positive emotions (e.g., Oxford happiness) and life satisfaction decreased. People were concerned more about their health and family, while less about leisure and friends. The results contribute to the knowledge gaps of short-term individual changes in psychological conditions after the outbreak. It may provide references for policy makers to plan and fight against COVID-19 effectively by improving stability of popular feelings and urgently prepare clinical practitioners to deliver corresponding therapy foundations for the risk groups and affected people.
Background
A novel coronavirus (SARA-CoV-2) emerged in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Within a few weeks, the disease caused by SARA-CoV-2, which is named COVID-19, has escalated into an unprecedented ongoing outbreak with frightening speed, becoming a global health emergency. This study aimed to exam the prevalence and risk factors of acute posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in Chinese people shortly after the massive outbreak of COVID-19.
Method
An online anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted in mainland China between 30 January and 3 February, 2020. The survey consisted of two self-administered questionnaires: one was designed to require personal information (gender, age, education background), current location, recent exposure history of Wuhan, the classification of population, and subjective sleep quality; the other was the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), which was to assess PTSS referring to the outbreak.
Results
A total of 2091 Chinese participated in the current study. The prevalence of PTSS among the public in mainland China 1 month after the COVID-19 outbreak was 4.6%. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that gender (p < 0.001), exposure history of Wuhan (p = 0.047), classification of population (p < 0.001), and subjective sleep quality (p < 0.001) could be regarded as predictor factors for PTSS.
Conclusions
The results showed that some Chinese showed acute PTSS during the COVID-19 outbreak. Therefore, comprehensive psychological intervention needs further implementation. Furthermore, females, people who having recent exposure history of Wuhan, those at high risk of infection or with poor sleep quality deserve special attention.
Background:
A recent cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China, was caused by a novel betacoronavirus, the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV). We report the epidemiological, clinical, laboratory, and radiological characteristics and treatment and clinical outcomes of these patients.
Methods:
All patients with suspected 2019-nCoV were admitted to a designated hospital in Wuhan. We prospectively collected and analysed data on patients with laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection by real-time RT-PCR and next-generation sequencing. Data were obtained with standardised data collection forms shared by the International Severe Acute Respiratory and Emerging Infection Consortium from electronic medical records. Researchers also directly communicated with patients or their families to ascertain epidemiological and symptom data. Outcomes were also compared between patients who had been admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) and those who had not.
Findings:
By Jan 2, 2020, 41 admitted hospital patients had been identified as having laboratory-confirmed 2019-nCoV infection. Most of the infected patients were men (30 [73%] of 41); less than half had underlying diseases (13 [32%]), including diabetes (eight [20%]), hypertension (six [15%]), and cardiovascular disease (six [15%]). Median age was 49·0 years (IQR 41·0-58·0). 27 (66%) of 41 patients had been exposed to Huanan seafood market. One family cluster was found. Common symptoms at onset of illness were fever (40 [98%] of 41 patients), cough (31 [76%]), and myalgia or fatigue (18 [44%]); less common symptoms were sputum production (11 [28%] of 39), headache (three [8%] of 38), haemoptysis (two [5%] of 39), and diarrhoea (one [3%] of 38). Dyspnoea developed in 22 (55%) of 40 patients (median time from illness onset to dyspnoea 8·0 days [IQR 5·0-13·0]). 26 (63%) of 41 patients had lymphopenia. All 41 patients had pneumonia with abnormal findings on chest CT. Complications included acute respiratory distress syndrome (12 [29%]), RNAaemia (six [15%]), acute cardiac injury (five [12%]) and secondary infection (four [10%]). 13 (32%) patients were admitted to an ICU and six (15%) died. Compared with non-ICU patients, ICU patients had higher plasma levels of IL2, IL7, IL10, GSCF, IP10, MCP1, MIP1A, and TNFα.
Interpretation:
The 2019-nCoV infection caused clusters of severe respiratory illness similar to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus and was associated with ICU admission and high mortality. Major gaps in our knowledge of the origin, epidemiology, duration of human transmission, and clinical spectrum of disease need fulfilment by future studies.
Funding:
Ministry of Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Beijing Municipal Science and Technology Commission.
Purpose of Review: This paper reviews recent research on the depression in young people following exposure to catastrophic stresses such as disasters, terrorism and political violence.
Recent Findings: Depression is one of the commonest outcomes following mass trauma, for all ages including children and adolescents. Recent articles continue to report high prevalence of depression which often continues for years. It is often comorbid with other psychiatric disorders, especially PTSD. Post-traumatic depression in children and adolescence affects purpose of life, impairs scholastic achievements, increases suicidality and has extensive comorbidity. Besides the trauma, individual constructs, personality factors, social support, exposure to other traumatic events are some of the predicting factors. Biological and genetic basis of post-traumatic depression has been reported. Studies suggest some benefit to psychotherapeutic interventions such as trauma-focussed cognitive behavioural therapy and web-based therapy.
Summary: A considerable proportion of youths develop depression following mass traumatic events. More research is required regarding the effectiveness of interventions in this population.
https://rdcu.be/bIxkO
Purpose of Review
The aim of this review was to focus solely on youths’ behavioral responses to natural disasters and political conflicts in order to fully understand their impact and scope.
Recent Findings
Recent studies in the field of trauma have shown that theoretical conceptions have moved away from a narrow focus on the individual and towards wider ecological perspectives and from a narrow focus on negative responses to trauma exposure towards positive prosocial responses. Although there is a distinction between youths’ behavioral responses towards natural disasters vs. towards political conflicts, in both of these adverse situations, behavioral responses exist alongside emotional responses.
Summary
Adolescents exposed to either type of adverse scenario are often able to turn their negative experiences into positive ones, take greater responsibility for themselves and others, contribute to recovery processes, and engage in prosocial behaviors. These responses must be investigated in the context of the trauma field’s recent understandings regarding psychological, biological, environmental, and cultural factors.
While becoming inextricable to our daily lives, online social media are blamed for increasing mental health problems in younger people. This systematic review synthesized evidence on the influence of social media use on depression, anxiety and psychological distress in adolescents. A search of PsycINFO, Medline, Embase, CINAHL and SSCI databases reaped 13 eligible studies, of which 12 were cross-sectional. Findings were classified into four domains of social media: time spent, activity, investment and addiction. All domains correlated with depression, anxiety and psychological distress. However, there are considerable caveats due to methodological limitations of cross-sectional design, sampling and measures. Mechanisms of the putative effects of social media on mental health should be explored further through qualitative enquiry and longitudinal cohort studies.
Aims
Unmet needs for mental health treatment are large and widespread, and periods of economic crisis may increase the need for care and the treatment gap, with serious consequences for individuals and society. The aim of this systematic review was to summarise the empirical evidence on the association between periods of economic crisis and the use of mental health care.
Methods
Following the PRISMA statement, MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, Open Grey and Cochrane Database were searched for relevant publications, published between 1990 and 2018, from inception to June 2018. Search terms included (1) economic crisis, (2) use of mental health services and (3) mental health problems. Study selection, data extraction and the assessment of study quality were performed in duplicate.
Results
Seventeen studies from different countries met the inclusion criteria. The results from the included articles suggest that periods of economic crisis might be linked to an increase of general help sought for mental health problems, with conflicting results regarding the changes in the use of specialised psychiatric care. The evidence on the use of mental health care specifically due to suicide behaviour is mixed. The results also suggest that economic crises might be associated with a higher use of prescription drugs and an increase in hospital admissions for mental disorders.
Conclusions
Research on the impact of economic crises on the use of mental health care is scarce, and methodologies of the included papers are prone to substantial bias. More empirical and long-term studies on this topic are needed, in order to adapt mental health care systems to the specific needs of the population in times of economic crisis.
Although mental health problems represent the largest burden of disease in young people, access to mental health care has been poor for this group. Integrated youth health care services have been proposed as an innovative solution. Integrated care joins up physical health, mental health and social care services, ideally in one location, so that a young person receives holistic care in a coordinated way. It can be implemented in a range of ways. A review of the available literature identified a range of studies reporting the results of evaluation research into integrated care services. The best available data indicate that many young people who may not otherwise have sought help are accessing these mental health services, and there are promising outcomes for most in terms of symptomatic and functional recovery. Where evaluated, young people report having benefited from and being highly satisfied with these services. Some young people, such as those with more severe presenting symptoms and those who received fewer treatment sessions, have failed to benefit, indicating a need for further integration with more specialist care. Efforts are underway to articulate the standards and core features to which integrated care services should adhere, as well as to further evaluate outcomes. This will guide the ongoing development of best practice models of service delivery.
Purpose of review:
This review examines the recent literature on biological factors that influence sex differences in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) during childhood and adolescence, focusing on neurobiological, hormonal, and genetic factors that may increase risk in girls.
Recent findings:
More than 60% of children and adolescents are exposed to traumatic events, and many develop PTSD. There is increasing recognition of gender differences in PTSD, with women having double the rates of the disorder compared to men. These gender differences in symptoms and their underlying neurobiology appear to emerge during adolescence, although it is still unclear which biological mechanisms may play key roles in the development of sex difference. The literature on gender effects in children and adolescents is still in the early stages, and more prospective and longitudinal work is needed; however, estrogen appears to play a key role in increasing risk for PTSD in girls, which emerges in adolescence.
This study investigated adolescent and parent reports of adolescent social media use and its relation to adolescent psychosocial adjustment. The sample consisted of 226 participants (113 parent-adolescent dyads) from throughout the United States, with adolescents (55 males, 51 females, 7 unreported) ranging from ages 14 to 17. Parent and adolescent reports of the number of adolescents' social media accounts were moderately correlated with parent-reported DSM-5 symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity/impulsivity, ODD, anxiety, and depressive symptoms, as well as adolescent-reported fear of missing out (FoMO) and loneliness. Lastly, anxiety and depressive symptoms were highest among adolescents with a relatively high number of parent-reported social media accounts and relatively high FoMO. The implications of these findings and need for related longitudinal studies are discussed.
Purpose of review:
PTSD in youth is common and debilitating. In contrast to adult PTSD, relatively little is known about the neurobiology of pediatric PTSD, nor how neurodevelopment may be altered. This review summarizes recent neuroimaging studies in pediatric PTSD and discusses implications for future study.
Recent findings:
Pediatric PTSD is characterized by abnormal structure and function in neural circuitry supporting threat processing and emotion regulation. Furthermore, cross-sectional studies suggest that youth with PTSD have abnormal frontolimbic development compared to typically developing youth. Examples include declining hippocampal volume, increasing amygdala reactivity, and declining amygdala-prefrontal coupling with age. Pediatric PTSD is characterized by both overt and developmental abnormalities in frontolimbic circuitry. Notably, abnormal frontolimbic development may contribute to increasing threat reactivity and weaker emotion regulation as youth age. Longitudinal studies of pediatric PTSD are needed to characterize individual outcomes and determine whether current treatments are capable of restoring healthy neurodevelopment.
Children and adolescents are a vulnerable group to develop post-traumatic stress symptoms after natural or man-made disasters. In the light of increasing numbers of refugees under the age of 18 years worldwide, there is a significant need for effective treatments. This meta-analytic review investigates specific psychosocial treatments for children and adolescents after man-made and natural disasters. In a systematic literature search using MEDLINE, EMBASE and PsycINFO, as well as hand-searching existing reviews and contacting professional associations, 36 studies were identified. Random- and mixed-effects models were applied to test for average effect sizes and moderating variables. Overall, treatments showed high effect sizes in pre-post comparisons (Hedges' g = 1.34) and medium effect sizes as compared with control conditions (Hedges' g = 0.43). Treatments investigated by at least two studies were cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT), eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR), narrative exposure therapy for children (KIDNET) and classroom-based interventions, which showed similar effect sizes. However, studies were very heterogenic with regard to their outcomes. Effects were moderated by type of profession (higher level of training leading to higher effect sizes). A number of effective psychosocial treatments for child and adolescent survivors of disasters exist. CBT, EMDR, KIDNET and classroom-based interventions can be equally recommended. Although disasters require immediate reactions and improvisation, future studies with larger sample sizes and rigorous methodology are needed.
There is widespread support for the hypothesis that, post-disaster, children's mental health is impacted-at least in part-via the impact on parents, parenting, parent-child interactions, and the family environment. To some degree, the enthusiasm with which this hypothesis is held outstrips the evidence examining it. The current paper critically evaluates the empirical evidence for this hypothesis and concludes that although limited (both in terms of number of existing studies and methodological flaws), the extant literature indicates some parent-related variables, as well as some aspects of the family environment are likely to constitute risk or protective factors for children. Given that parenting is modifiable, it is proposed that the identified parent- and family-related factors represent important therapeutic targets, and a universal post-disaster parenting intervention (Disaster Recovery Triple P) is described.
The death of a parent or sibling (family bereavement) is associated with mental health problems in approximately, 25 % of the affected children. However, it is still unknown whether mental health problems of family-bereaved adolescents are predicted by pre-existing mental health problems, pre-loss family functioning, or multiple bereavements. In this study, a prospective longitudinal assessment of change in mental health following bereavement was done in a large representative sample from the ‘Tracking Adolescents Individual Lives Survey’ (TRAILS). This is a four-wave prospective cohort study of Dutch adolescents (n = 2230) of whom 131 (5.9 %) had experienced family bereavement at the last wave (T4). Family-bereaved adolescents reported more internalizing problems, within 2 years after family bereavement, compared to the non-bereaved peers, while taking into account the level of internalizing problems before the bereavement. A clinically relevant finding was that 22 % new cases were found in family-bereaved, in comparison to 5.5 % new cases in non-bereaved. Low SES predicted more internalizing problems in family-bereaved but not in non-bereaved adolescents. Family functioning, reported by the adolescent, did not predict mental health problems within 2 years. Multiple family bereavements predicted fewer externalizing problems. In conclusion, internalizing problems increase in adolescents after family bereavement in comparison to non-bereaved and these can be predicted by pre-loss factors. Awareness among professionals regarding the risks for aggravation of mental health problems after family loss is needed.
Electronic supplementary material
The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00787-015-0695-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Objectives:
This study investigated the psychosocial responses of children and their parents to pandemic disasters, specifically measuring traumatic stress responses in children and parents with varying disease-containment experiences.
Methods:
A mixed-method approach using survey, focus groups, and interviews produced data from 398 parents. Adult respondents completed the University of California at Los Angeles Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index (PTSD-RI) Parent Version and the PTSD Check List Civilian Version (PCL-C).
Results:
Disease-containment measures such as quarantine and isolation can be traumatizing to a significant portion of children and parents. Criteria for PTSD was met in 30% of isolated or quarantined children based on parental reports, and 25% of quarantined or isolated parents (based on self-reports).
Conclusions:
These findings indicate that pandemic disasters and subsequent disease-containment responses may create a condition that families and children find traumatic. Because pandemic disasters are unique and do not include congregate sites for prolonged support and recovery, they require specific response strategies to ensure the behavioral health needs of children and families. Pandemic planning must address these needs and disease-containment measures.
As new media are becoming daily fare, Internet addiction appears as a potential problem in adolescents. From the reported negative consequences, it appears that Internet addiction can have a variety of detrimental outcomes for young people that may require professional intervention. Researchers have now identified a number of activities and personality traits associated with Internet addiction. This study aimed to synthesise previous findings by (i) assessing the prevalence of potential Internet addiction in a large sample of adolescents, and (ii) investigating the interactions between personality traits and the usage of particular Internet applications as risk factors for Internet addiction. A total of 3,105 adolescents in the Netherlands filled out a self-report questionnaire including the Compulsive Internet Use Scale and the Quick Big Five Scale. Results indicate that 3.7% of the sample were classified as potentially being addicted to the Internet. The use of online gaming and social applications (online social networking sites and Twitter) increased the risk for Internet addiction, whereas extraversion and conscientiousness appeared as protective factors in high frequency online gamers. The findings support the inclusion of ‘Internet addiction’ in the DSM-V. Vulnerability and resilience appear as significant aspects that require consideration in further studies.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2013.04.002
The aim of this study was to analyze the psychological impact of COVID-19 in the university community during the first weeks of confinement. A cross-sectional study was conducted. The Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS-21) was employed to assess symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress. The emotional impact of the situation was analyzed using the Impact of Event Scale. An online survey was fulfilled by 2530 members of the University of Valladolid, in Spain. Moderate to extremely severe scores of anxiety, depression, and stress were reported by 21.34%, 34.19% and 28.14% of the respondents, respectively. A total of 50.43% of respondents presented moderate to severe impact of the outbreak. Students from Arts & Humanities and Social Sciences & Law showed higher scores related to anxiety, depression, stress and impact of event with respect to students from Engineering & Architecture. University staff presented lower scores in all measures compared to students, who seem to have suffered an important psychological impact during the first weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown. In order to provide timely crisis-oriented psychological services and to take preventive measures in future pandemic situations, mental health in university students should be carefully monitored.
Macroeconomic indicators, notably unemployment, are significant moderators of suicide. We projected the number of excess suicides in Canada as a consequence of the impact of COVID-19 on unemployment. Annual suicide mortality (2000-2018) and unemployment (2000-2019) data were derived from Statistics Canada. Time-trend regression models were used to evaluate and predict the number of excess suicides in 2020 and 2021 for two possible projection scenarios following the COVID-19 pandemic: 1) an increase in unemployment of 1.6% in 2020, 1.2% in 2021, or 2) an increase in unemployment of 10.7% in 2020, 8.9% in 2021. A percentage point increase in unemployment was associated with a 1.0% increase in suicide between 2000-2018. In the first scenario, the rise in unemployment rates resulted in a projected total of 418 excess suicides in 2020-2021 (suicide rate per 100,000: 11.6 in 2020). In the second scenario, the projected suicide rates per 100,000 increased to 14.0 in 2020 and 13.6 in 2021, resulting in 2,114 excess suicides in 2020-2021. These results indicate that suicide prevention in the context of COVID-19-related unemployment is a critical priority. Furthermore, timely access to mental healthcare, financial provisions and social/labour support programs, as well as optimal treatment for mental disorders is urgently needed.