Behavioral and Emotional Disorders in Children during the COVID-19 Epidemic

Abstract

This article has been published in English before [1].

Psychological Symptoms and Behavioral Changes in Children and Adolescents During the Early Phase of COVID-19 Quarantine in Three European Countries

“…Public health organizations and mental health experts have also acknowledged the potential adverse psychological effects of quarantine on children and adolescents [e.g., (11)(12)(13)]. Children have unique and specific needs that are disturbed by COVID-19 quarantine that includes not only home confinement but the inability to go to school and interact with peers and teachers (14).…”

“…One of the few studies concerning this population (10) found that children who had been quarantined exhibited increased rates of posttraumatic stress symptoms compared with children who were not quarantined, indicating that home confinement can be traumatizing to a significant number of children. A recent study conducted in China in February 2020 with children aged 3-18 years concluded that the most frequent psychological and behavioral problems included clinginess, distraction, irritability, and fear of asking questions about the outbreak (12).…”

“…For example, housing conditions, such as small apartments with limited views and indoor qualities, were related to depressive symptoms in a recent original study that investigated the effects of housing environment characteristics on mental health during the COVID-19 lockdown using a large sample of Italian university students (16). In addition, psychosocial stress and lifestyle alterations caused by home confinement could exacerbate the negative consequences on a child's physical and mental health, which may create a vicious circle (12,17). Children's particular vulnerabilities to trauma (18), adverse events (12), and environmental risks (17) make them an important group to study the negative psychological effects of COVID-19 quarantine.…”

“…In addition, psychosocial stress and lifestyle alterations caused by home confinement could exacerbate the negative consequences on a child's physical and mental health, which may create a vicious circle (12,17). Children's particular vulnerabilities to trauma (18), adverse events (12), and environmental risks (17) make them an important group to study the negative psychological effects of COVID-19 quarantine. Despite its importance, this topic has been somehow neglected in the literature and young people's reactions during epidemics remains understudied.…”

COVID-19 from the Perspective of Preschool Prospective Teachers: What Can We Do for Children?

“…After a long time when the pandemic is over, they could experience such problems as separating from parents, socialization and adaptation etc. Even though this effect varies depending on the socio-cultural and socioeconomic condition where children are in, effects of these negative experiences in childhood could emerge in the coming periods (Boyraz & Legros, 2020;Çaykuş & Mutlu Çaykuş, 2020;Dalton et al, 2020;Demir Öztürk et al, 2020;Dubey et al, 2020;Ghosh et al, 2020;Guan et al, 2020;Jiao et al, 2020;United Nations, 2020).…”