- While COVID-19 affects adults more than children, the need in mental health has increased in all age groups.
- Children between 5 and 17 asked for help for mental health issues at much higher rates in 2020.
- However, a new study found that children with mental health issues already had fewer symptoms when lockouts began.
Although the physical effects of COVID-19 have dominated headlines over the past 13 months, the consequences for mental health are considered to be a concomitant pandemic that could last the virus longer. Children were generally resilient to the new coronavirus (although at least one variant hit the demographics harder). When it comes to depression and anxiety, however, children are on an equal footing with adults.
Emergency hospital visits for mental health issues in the 12- to 17-year-old demographics have risen by 31 percent since the pandemic began. Younger children fared only slightly better: a 24 percent increase for children ages 5 to 11. In Germany, one in three children has had anxiety or depression in the past year. In addition, children struggle to learn in remote educational settings.
However, at least one demographic performed better than normal, at least during the early phase of closures. According to a new study, published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, high school children from a predominantly Latinx community with higher than normal levels of mental distress experienced a decrease in symptoms.
Children with previous mental health problems see diminished internalization (behaviors including withdrawn, nervous, lonely, unwanted, or sadness), externalization (behaviors involving lying, acting irresponsibly, breaking the law, or showing remorse), and other problems.
Those without mental health issues also benefited, at least in terms of internalization and general behavior; there was no change in attention issues or externalization.
The researchers began detecting 322 children (average age 12) in January 2020 before the pandemic took hold in America. They were studied until May 2020. Although this represents only a small amount of time in exclusion, senior author Carla Sharp, a professor of psychology at the University of Houston, says the results have important clinical implications.
“First, promoting family functioning during COVID-19 could potentially help protect or improve youth’s mental health during the pandemic. Furthermore, it is important to consider cultural factors, such as familism and collectivism in Latinx communities that the early effects of mental health disasters to COVID-19 stress. ”
Seven-year-old Hamza Haqqani, a 2nd-degree student at Al-Huda Academy, uses a computer to participate in an E-learning class with his teacher and classmates while on May 01, 2020 in Bartlett, Illinois, was at his house.Photo by Scott Olson / Getty Images
Many have decided what we have lost over the past year. The issues are indeed many and complex. Yet we have also seen reduced environmental damage (including noise pollution) and increased savings. We are also more aware of how factory farming helps increase viruses. And despite the obvious challenges of making money with so many businesses and industries, this time around, some have offered the opportunity to reconnect with their family.
The co-author of the study, Jessica Hernandez Ortiz, says this research could pave the way for new ways to address mental health issues in children.
“Our findings underscore the importance of the family environment and the Latinx collective values of community connection in promoting the resilience of children and highlighting the possibility that school environments may exacerbate mental health problems. This is immediately and positively influenced from the context in ‘ a less stressful environment. mental health. “
As the study ended shortly after the pandemic, the novelty of family togetherness could have diminished as families became economically tense and realized that spending all their time together was more stressful than initially thought. That said, humans are social animals that need regular contact with family and friends. The latter group may not have been available, but at least for some children, their families filled in the gaps, especially for those who did not thrive in a traditional school environment.
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Stay in touch with Derek Twitter and Facebook. His most recent book is “Hero’s Dose: The Case For Psychedelics in Ritual and Therapy. ‘
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