Mental health risk among children during COVID-19 lockdown

Children's mental health during the second year of COVID-19 pandemic in Lithuania: Parents' and children's perspectives

BACKGROUND

Understanding the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's mental health is needed to deal with it successfully. Our study focuses on the pandemic's impact on children's mental health in the middle of its second year in Lithuania.

AIM

To assess the impact of the pandemic and related restrictions on the mental health of 11-17-year-old children in the second year of the pandemic from the perspectives of children and parents.

METHODS

389 11-17-year-old children and 392 parents/guardians participated in the study. Data were collected from March 9, 2021, to April 30, 2021. A cross-sectional study was conducted with two online questionnaires. Children provided information about changes in emotions and behavior during quarantine, and the influence this had on interpersonal relationships. Parents/guardians answered questions on their children's emotional state, behavior, relationships, and daily life.

RESULTS

Anxiety was the most frequent children's complaint. Girls reported the experience of getting angry more easily, anxiety, stress and tensions, profound tiredness, overall negative changes, and they were more worried about family and friends being infected, while boys were unable to participate in daily activities and were less worried about being infected. Children more frequently than parents reported severe loneliness, sadness, fatigue, impaired concentration, increased sleeping time, improved interpersonal relationships with friends and impaired ones with siblings, and feeling severely worried about family members or friends being infected. Parents more frequently reported children's inability to participate in daily activities, improved children-parent relations, and severe children's anxiety about being infected.

CONCLUSION

In its second year, the pandemic continues to have an extensive negative impact on children's mental health. Significant discrepancies were found between children and parents' perceptions of quarantine consequences on children's mental health, as parents tend to underestimate it. Such undervaluation can be an obstacle to getting mental health services for those children in need of them.

The relationships of preventive behaviors and psychological resilience with depression, anxiety, and stress among university students during the COVID-19 pandemic: A two-wave longitudinal study in Shandong Province, China

Introduction

Studies have shown that the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to long-term health problems; therefore, more attention should be paid to the mental health of university students. This study aimed to explore the longitudinal effects of preventive behaviors and psychological resilience on the mental health of Chinese college students during COVID-19.

Methods

We recruited 2,948 university students from five universities in Shandong Province. We used a generalized estimating equation (GEE) model to estimate the impact of preventive behaviors and psychological resilience on mental health.

Results

In the follow-up survey, the prevalence of anxiety (44.8% at T1 vs 41.2% at T2) and stress (23.0% at T1 vs 19.6% at T2) decreased over time, whereas the prevalence of depression (35.2% at T1 vs 36.9% at T2) increased significantly (P < 0.001). Senior students were more likely to report depression (OR = 1.710, P < 0.001), anxiety (OR = 0.815, P = 0.019), and stress (OR = 1.385, P = 0.011). Among all majors, medical students were most likely to report depression (OR = 1.373, P = 0.021), anxiety (OR = 1.310, P = 0.040), and stress (OR = 1.775, P < 0.001). Students who wore a mask outside were less likely to report depression (OR = 0.761, P = 0.027) and anxiety (OR = 0.686, P = 0.002) compared to those who did not wear masks. Students who complied with the standard hand-washing technique were less likely to report depression (OR = 0.628, P < 0.001), anxiety (OR = 0.701, P < 0.001), and stress (OR = 0.638, P < 0.001). Students who maintained a distance of one meter in queues were less likely to report depression (OR = 0.668, P < 0.001), anxiety (OR = 0.634, P < 0.001), and stress (OR = 0.638, P < 0.001). Psychological resilience was a protective factor against depression (OR = 0.973, P < 0.001), anxiety (OR = 0.980, P < 0.001), and stress (OR = 0.976, P < 0.001).

Discussion

The prevalence of depression among university students increased at follow-up, while the prevalence of anxiety and stress decreased. Senior students and medical students are vulnerable groups. University students should continue to follow relevant preventive behaviors to protect their mental health. Improving psychological resilience may help maintain and promote university students' mental health.

The Predictors of Psychological Well-Being in Lithuanian Adolescents after the Second Prolonged Lockdown Due to COVID-19 Pandemic

Recent research highlights the impact of prolonged pandemics and lockdown on the mental health of youngsters. The second wave of COVID-19 brought an increase in mental health problems among young people. Therefore, this study aims to analyze the main factors arising from intra-individual, inter-individual, and environmental contexts that predict good psychological well-being in a group of adolescents after a second prolonged period of social restrictions and distance education. The study included 1483 school students from 11 to 19 years old. The survey assessed self-reported students’ psychological well-being (WHO-5 index), physical activity, sedentary behavior, school social capital, communication with peers and relationships with parents, existing emotional and behavioral problems. The results indicated that 58% of adolescents were of good psychological well-being in spring 2021, after half a year in lockdown. Almost 19% of adolescents had depression risk. The study revealed that during a period of prolonged isolation, male gender, better relationships between young people and their parents, the absence of serious emotional and behavioral problems, less sedentary behavior, and higher school social capital were found to be significant factors predicting adolescents’ psychological well-being. Lower physical activity is an important contributor to students’ poor well-being. Finally, the lack of face-to-face communication with peers was revealed as a specific factor in predicting adolescents with depression risk.