Children and COVID-19 Research Library

During the COVID-19 pandemic in Israel, the number of patients with eating disorders (EDs) seeking treatment increased significantly. The present study sought to evaluate whether, during the pandemic (2020–21), patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) would show more ED-related, comorbid, and COVID-19-related symptoms in comparison to a naturalistic control group, and whether differences would be found between adult and adolescent patients with AN. We also examined attitudes to telemedicine use during the pandemic in patients receiving long-distance interventions. Using online self-report questionnaires, this study assessed general and COVID-19-specific symptoms with a secure digital platform (REDCap®) in 36 female adolescents with AN, 35 female adults with AN, and 25 female controls.

The massive development of information technology based on big data, internet, and artifcial intelligence has brought fundamental changes to human patterns and lifestyles, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic that hit globally, has added to a large and complex problems in parenting, as well as demanding people to take care of their children. Parents must be able to adapt and reposition themselves with new and efective forms of parenting, this can increase parental anxiety. To determine the level of parental anxiety, this research was conducted using a quantitative descriptive method through the distribution of questionnaires based on the GAD-7 instrument. This study focuses on eforts to capture the level of parental anxiety and the need for a new form of parenting.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had major economic, social and psychological consequences for adolescents and young adults. It is unclear whether those with a history of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) were particularly vulnerable. This study examined whether a history of ACEs was associated with financial difficulties, lack of emotional support, feeling stressed/anxious, feeling down/depressed, increased alcohol and/or cannabis use and increased conflict with parents, siblings and/or intimate partners among 16- to 21-year-olds during the pandemic. Data were collected in November and December 2020 from respondents aged 16 to 21 years (n = 664) participating in the longitudinal and intergenerational Well-being and Experiences Study (Wave 3) conducted in Manitoba, Canada. Age-stratified associations between ACEs and pandemic-related stressors/symptoms were examined with binary and multinomial logistic regression.

La preocupación por la COVID-19 y sus consecuencias económicas, sociales y psicológicas, junto con las estrictas medidas aplicadas para combatir esta crisis sanitaria, han supuesto una amenaza para la salud mental de los jóvenes. El objetivo de este artículo fue analizar el papel mediador de la resiliencia y la satisfacción con la vida en la asociación entre las preocupaciones relacionadas con la COVID-19 y la salud mental de los adolescentes y adultos jóvenes. Un total de 3485 participantes con edades comprendidas entre los 14 a 29 años (Medad = 19.68, DT = 3.36) completaron una encuesta online sobre las preocupaciones relacionadas con la pandemia, la resiliencia, la satisfacción vital y los síntomas emocionales (depresión, ansiedad y estrés). Se realizó un modelo de ecuaciones estructurales (SEM) para examinar la invarianza multigrupo. 

The study aims to understand the level of perceived stress and related influencing factors among the urban and rural senior high school students in China and their channels of coping with the stress, when they shifted from home-based online learning to on-campus learning after their return to school during the post-Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic period. From January to March 2021, the Chinese Perceived Stress Scale (SSCPs-14) and a self-designed questionnaire were used for the online survey among the senior high school students from six secondary schools (three from cities and three from counties) in three provinces of China (Shandong, Shanghai and Sichuan) who were selected by convenient sampling. Descriptive analysis, t-test, χ2 test and multivariate logistic regression were used to analyze the data.

This study examined the moderating role of adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation in the relationship between general perceived stress and depressive symptoms during the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown in March–April 2020 in Belgium, while controlling for past depressive symptoms in 2016. Participants were 110 adolescents (55% female; Mage = 16, SDage = 1.80) who filled out different questionnaires assessing maladaptive and adaptive emotion regulation strategies (ERS), perceived stress, and depressive symptoms.

Acute SARS-CoV-2 infections in children and adolescents are usually mild. However, they can suffer from ongoing symptoms, generally referred to as long COVID. Sleep disorders are one of the most frequent complaints in long COVID although precise data are missing. This study assessed the sleep behavior of children and adolescents who presented at our outpatient clinic between January 2021 and May 2022 with the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ-DE). It compared the sleep behavior at three different time points: pre-COVID-19; post-COVID-19 at the initial presentation; and post-COVID-19 at re-presentation. Data from 45 patients were analyzed.

A rapid spreading of the COVID-19 virus in recent years had a great impact on every single aspect of live and the world faced with unexpected and unpredictable crisis in both physical and mental condition. As with any crisis, vulnerable individuals like pregnant women were the concern of societies. Several physiological and psychological changes occur during pregnancy which put individuals in a risk of mental health problems. During the outbreak of the COVID-19, pregnant women have experienced more psychological stresses, fear, anxiety, and depression. The prenatal mental distresses and psychiatric disorders may cause poor compliance, reduce help-seeking behaviors, and neglect to take the follow up screening visits and risk of harm for mother and others. Addressing the mental health in pregnant women is crucial to prevent the consequences. The purpose of this narrative review was to investigate the available literature on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in pregnant women and provide some recommendations to improve mental health in them. It also shed some light on providing mental health services for women during pregnancy and can be used by health professionals and policymakers.

Mental health consequences and behavior change has been described in elite athletes following the vast impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the world of sports. However, most study samples have been of limited size, and few studies have assessed student-athletes. This study aimed to analyze perceived mental health impact, measured as clinical degree of depression and anxiety, worry about one's sport and about one's career, and behavioral change with respect to video gaming behavior, in high-school athletes in Sweden. Data on anxiety and depression as well as on perceived behavioral changes during COVID-19 were collected from students at sports high schools in Sweden (N = 7,025) in February 2021, during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

The outbreak of COVID-19 epidemic continues to unfold globally, which harms the public’s mental health. Adolescents’ mental health is affected by social isolation and lockdown during the COVID-19 epidemic. The implicit theory of thoughts-emotion-behavior states that individuals with a growth mindset believe that thoughts, emotions, and behaviors can be changed through effort and tend to persist in pursuing higher goals and maintain enthusiasm as well as cope with stress resiliently, thus having higher gritty and levels of mental health. This study aimed to explore the role of grit and coping strategies in the influence of the growth mindset on adolescents’ mental health during the COVID-19 epidemic period. A total of 1564 participants (Mage = 17.02, 760 boys, 804 girls) from three high schools in China were recruited to complete The Self-report Questionnaire-20, The Growth Mindset Scale, The Short Grit Scale, and The Coping Style Scale to evaluate mental health, growth mindset, grit, and positive coping strategies, respectively.

On March 11th, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19 as a pandemic. On the following day, the Ontario government (Canada’s most populous province) ordered all public schools to close. By Monday, March 16th, 2020, all public schools (and most private schools) in Canada announced plans to physically shutter schools, with a shift to remote and online learning to follow soon after. This unprecedented shift in learning environment for young Canadians came at a time when the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic was creating a challenging environment for the mental health of all Canadians. While all students may have struggled to cope, 2SLGBTQ + students faced an unusually complex shift, as their school and home environments may have contributed differentially to the social supports and acceptance (related to their 2SLGBTQ + identity or identities) that their cisgender heterosexual peers routinely experience in their social surroundings. This paper explores the relationship between school attachment, parental involvement and positive mental health in 2SLGBTQ + youth using data collected as part of the Second Annual School Climate Survey on Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia in Canadian Schools.