BACKGROUND
By the end of 2019, a novel coronavirus was identified as the cause of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan, China. It rapidly spread due to a strong evidence of human-to-human transmission, resulting in a pandemic throughout the world. Almost all countries around the world, including Qatar, have established instructions and regulations to limit the spread of the virus and to preserve the health of societies. Unfortunately, these procedures are often associated with some negative effects on individuals’ psychological and intellectual well-being, including children and adolescents.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study was to screen the psychological effects of home isolation and social distancing on children and adolescents, and the strategies used to cope with those effects.
METHODS
This is a cross-sectional study implemented using an online scaling questionnaire through a SMS text messaging. All home-isolated children and adolescents registered in Primary Health Care Corporation aged 7-18 years old invited to participate in the study, children and adolescents with intellectual disadvantages excluded. A p value 0.05 (two tailed) is considered for statistically significant level.
RESULTS
Data were collected from 6608 participants through the period of June 23rd to July 18th, 2020. Almost all the participants have followed the official regulations during the period of home isolation and social distancing, and 69.1% of their parents expressed their children and adolescents were vulnerable to the virus as an average person, compared to 25% expressed they were not vulnerable at all. The mean score of emotional construct anger and depression have decreased with the increase of following official instructions, with p value of 0.04 and 0.11 respectively. The difference in mean score of all psychological effects and the coping strategies used among participants between the three levels of vulnerability to corona virus, were statistically significant. The trend of mean score varied little with the escalation of the level of vulnerability to the virus. This mild variation can make difference when sample size is large as in case of our study.
CONCLUSIONS
Screening for psychological and social disruptions is of importance to develop strategies by schools and healthcare providers to assess and monitor behavioral changes and negative psychological effects during reintegration post-COVID-19. Participants experiencing higher levels of anxieties should be given extra attention during reintegration and transitional phases in schools. Although electronic devices and social media platforms may have lowered the level of anxiety in some cases, it is important to address how electronic devices and social media platforms are used and how content is tailored to children and adolescents. It is also important to maintain an active lifestyle for children and young adults, and encourage them not to neglect their physical health, as it promotes better psychological state of mind.
Psychological and coping strategies of home isolation and social distancing parameters in children and adolescents during COVID 19 pandemic: A cross-sectional study (Preprint)