Children and COVID-19 Research Library

COVID-19 is an infectious disease that was declared as a pandemic and public health emergency in late 2019 and has impacted children's mental health worldwide. This study aimed to assess the general and mental health status of children during different stages of COVID-19 pandemic, and to identify the associated factors. A cross-sectional study conducted on children aging 3 to 12 years in Kuwait during three different stages of COVID19 pandemic (pre-total curfew, during total curfew, and post-total curfew). The psychological status was assessed using the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria.

The schooling disruption caused by COVID-19 in Kuwait is among the longest in the world. Using the similarities between the schooling disruptions due to the Gulf War and the schooling disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this note shows that students in school during the COVID-19 pandemic face significant reductions in the present value of their lifetime income. Furthermore, the findings show that students in higher grades during the pandemic are likely to face larger reductions in lifetime earnings than students in lower grades. Kuwaiti females in secondary school who will become civil service workers face a reduction of close to $40,000. The corresponding reduction for males is more than $70,000.