Factors contributing to distress among school and college-going adolescents during COVID-19 Lockdown: A cross-sectional study conducted in Sibi Balochistan, Pakistan

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries have implemented nationwide lockdowns. While this leads to a decrease in disease transmission, there is a concurrent increase in the levels of psychological distress. To estimate the levels of psychological distress in school- and college-going adolescents currently under lockdown and to determine the factors associated with this psychological distress. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study conducted in Army Public School and College (APSAC) Sibi, Balochistan province of Pakistan between March and May 2020. Students of APSAC Sibi were enrolled in this research. Modified Kuppuswamy Socioeconomic Scale, Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire, and Kessler-10 were used for data acquisition. Chi-square and t -tests and univariate analysis (nonparametric test) were performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0 (IBM, Armonk, US). RESULTS: Out of 225 participants, 57.4% were studying at school. Sixty-four percent of the participants were likely to be suffering from psychological distress. There is a significant effect of physical activity, sleep duration, bedtime at night, screen-time duration, and COVID-19 positive family member on the levels of distress. A moderate positive correlation was between psychological distress and bed-time at night ( rho [223] = 0.328, P < 0.001) and screen time duration ( rho [223] = 0.541, P < 0.001). A moderate negative correlation of physical activity ( rho [223] = −0.340, P < 0.001) and a weak negative correlation of sleep duration hours ( rho [225] = −0.158, P = 0.018) was found with psychological distress levels. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 lockdown and pandemic have had a considerable psychological impact on both school-going and college-going students, showing increased level of stress. A strong public health campaign along with mental and physical and social support programs are the need of the hour.

Physical activity and mental health in children and youth during COVID-19: a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…COVID-19 engendered a plethora of uncommon negative psychological responses, including COVID-19 stress, fatigue, mental health problems, and negative affect [ 58 , 61 , 68 , 76 , 90 , 105 ]. COVID-19 stress, as a new negative psychological response that emerged during the pandemic [ 65 ], may have been for most youth an adaptive response that prompted them to take precautions (e.g., frequent hand washing and social distancing) to protect themselves from the virus.…”

Physical activity on the mental health of children and adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic-induced school closures—A systematic review

“…They evaluate the intensity, duration, and frequency of PA. In the quantitative analysis, they adopt International PA Questionnaire (IPAQ) [ 26 ], the Pediatric Functional Activity Brief Scale (PFABS) [ 16 , 18 ], the Leisure-Time Exercise Questions [ 25 ], questions from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey [ 29 ], and the PA questionnaire for children (PAQ-C) [ 21 , 27 ]. As for mental health, most of the studies evaluate people’s anxiety, depression, and other negative emotions (such as tension, depression, anger, fatigue, confusion, etc.)…”

“…As for mental health, most of the studies evaluate people’s anxiety, depression, and other negative emotions (such as tension, depression, anger, fatigue, confusion, etc.) through the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for state-Anxiety for Children(STAIC S-Anxiety) [ 28 ], the 10-item Positive and Negative Affect Schedule for Children (PANAS-C) 1 , Profile of Mood States (POMS) [ 19 , 26 ], the General Anxiety Disorder 7-Item(GAD-7) for anxiety [ 16 , 18 ], Patient Health Questionnaire 9-Item (PHQ-9) for depression [ 16 , 18 ], the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) [ 29 ], World Health Survey [ 24 ], Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC-3) [ 22 ], Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI) [ 22 ], Kessler‑10 (K10) [ 25 ], the Rosenberg self-esteem scale [ 21 ], and the 20-item Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression [ 20 ]. Besides, Xiao et al [ 19 ] also study the correlation between PA and conflicts with parents, which can reflect the influence on the mental health of children and adolescents to a certain extent.…”

“…7 studies, come from America, China, Spain, Canada, and Pakistan, focus on the negative influence on the mental health of children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, which show that many people have some kinds of mental symptoms [ 19 – 22 , 25 , 26 , 28 ] such as anxiety, depression, boredom, emotional disorders, decreased self-esteem, etc. that are even more severe than before the lockdown.…”

Does COVID-19 affect mental health and substance use in young adults?

“…During the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been bereavement, isolation, loss of income, and increasing mental health conditions or exacerbating existing ones. [ 1 2 3 ] Seventy two percent of respondents for a poll conducted in late March 2020 reported that their lives were noticeably disrupted since the pandemic began, which was a 32% increase since the same poll conducted two weeks prior. [ 4 ] Any mental illness (AMI) is defined as a mental, behavioral, or emotional disorder and according to the National Institute of Health report from 2020, young adults aged 18–25 years had the highest prevalence of AMI (30.6%) compared with adults aged 26–49 years (25.3%) and aged 50 and older (14.5%).…”