Understanding why the COVID‐19 pandemic‐related lockdown increases mental health difficulties in vulnerable young children
Background The mental health consequences of school closure, social isolation, increased financial and emotional stress, and greater exposure to family conflicts are likely to be pronounced for primary school children who are known to be vulnerable. Data from prior to the pandemic are needed to prov...
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Published in | JCPP advances Vol. 1; no. 1; pp. e12005 - n/a |
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Main Authors | , , , , , , , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
01.04.2021
John Wiley and Sons Inc Wiley |
Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Background
The mental health consequences of school closure, social isolation, increased financial and emotional stress, and greater exposure to family conflicts are likely to be pronounced for primary school children who are known to be vulnerable. Data from prior to the pandemic are needed to provide robust assessments of the impact of COVID‐19 on vulnerable children.
Method
The present study capitalises on an ongoing study of primary school children (4–8 years) identified as ‘at‐risk’ for mental health problems by teachers. We collected mental health and socio‐economic data prior to the pandemic and re‐assessed this cohort (n = 142) via researcher‐led video calls during the pandemic to evaluate the social and emotional impacts of COVID‐19 for these families.
Results
Mental health problems, particularly anxiety, increased significantly in these children. Parental mental health difficulties (anxiety and depression) were also prevalent. There were higher reports of financial stress during lockdown amongst low‐income families previously identified as living in poverty, prior to the COVID‐19 pandemic. Financial strain was found to indirectly predict increases in child mental health problems through parental mental health.
Conclusion
These findings show that the pandemic exacerbated mental health problems in already vulnerable children. These negative outcomes were explained by financial stress (e.g., lost employment, loss of income and inability to pay bills), which was negatively linked to parental mental health. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23 |
ISSN: | 2692-9384 2692-9384 |
DOI: | 10.1111/jcv2.12005 |