Children and adolescents' emotional problems during the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil

Abstract

Brazil has been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic with one of the largest numbers of youth impacted by school closure globally. This longitudinal online survey assessed emotional problems in children and adolescents aged 5–17 years living in Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic. Recruitment occurred between June to November 2020 and participants were invited for follow-up assessments every 15 days until June 2021. Participants were 5795 children and adolescents living across the country with mean age of 10.7 (SD 3.63) years at recruitment; 50.5% were boys and 69% of white ethnicity. Weighted prevalence rates of anxiety, depressive and total emotional symptoms at baseline were 29.7%, 36.1% and 36%, respectively. Longitudinal analysis included 3221 (55.6%) participants and revealed fluctuations in anxiety and depressive symptoms during one year follow-up, associated with periods of social mobility and mortality. Emotional problems significantly increased in July and September 2020 and decreased from December 2020 to February 2021 and then significantly increased in May 2021 relative to June 2020. Older age, feeling lonely, previous diagnosis of mental or neurodevelopmental disorder, previous exposure to traumatic events or psychological aggression, parental psychopathology, and sleeping less than 8/h a day were associated with increased rates of anxiety and depressive symptoms at baseline and over time. Food insecurity and less social contact with family and peers were associated with baseline anxiety and depressive symptoms, and lowest socio-economic strata, chronic disease requiring treatment and family members physically ill due to COVID-19 were associated with increasing rates over time. The pandemic severely affected youth, particularly those from vulnerable populations and in moments of increased mortality and decreased social mobility. Results underscore the need for allocation of resources to services and the continuous monitoring of mental health problems among children and adolescents. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s00787-022-02006-6.

Brief internet-delivered cognitive-behavioural intervention for children and adolescents with symptoms of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic: a randomised controlled trial protocol

“…It is estimated that approximately 4 million students dropped out of school during the pandemic in Brazil [18]. In a previous study conducted by our group [19], we found that, among children and adolescents in Brazil, one in three presented with clinical symptoms of anxiety or depression during the pandemic, and that number remained relatively stable from June 2020 to June 2021. In this context, it is vital to develop initiatives to mitigate the potential impact on this population.…”

Effects of Gender and Social Network Use on High School Students’ Emotional Well-Being during COVID-19

“…During the pandemic, the prevalence of mental health problems in the general population increased worldwide [45][46][47][48], including in Croatia [49][50][51][52][53]. The same trend was also observed in the adolescent population [22,[54][55][56][57][58][59]. Globally, the prevalence of depression among young people was 25-35%, that of anxiety 20-30%, and that of stress 20-40%, depending on the geographic area, with the results clearly indicating a higher prevalence of problems among girls [48,55,[60][61][62][63][64].…”

Emotional, hyperactivity and inattention problems in adolescents with immunocompromising chronic diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…In contrast other surveys, that patients with chronic diseases were more vulnerable to mental health issues. 22 , 23 , 24 One possible explanation for this divergence was the presence of medical support for these patients during the pandemic.…”