Implications of COVID‐19‐induced nationwide lockdown on children's behaviour in Punjab, India

Abstract

Background Lockdown is one of the prevalent tools that are used to control the spread of COVID‐19 virus in India. Under the circumstances created during lockdown period, children are deprived from the social interaction and companionship; because of which, they are susceptible to psychiatric disorders. Therefore, in this study, efforts were to understand the impacts of lockdown on the mental status of the children of India and their specific causes. Study Design It is a questionnaire‐based study. Methods A web‐based questionnaire was prepared, and 400 parents from four districts of Punjab, India, namely, Ludhiana, Sahibzada Ajit Singh (SAS) Nagar, Sangrur and Ferozepur, were telephonically interviewed. Further, the information collected from the interviews was statistically analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software. Results Findings from this study revealed that 73.15% and 51.25% of the children were having signs of increased irritation and anger, respectively; 18.7% and 17.6% of the parents also mentioned the symptoms of depression and anxiety, respectively, among their children, which were also augmented by the changes in their diet, sleep, weight and more usage of the electronic equipment. Children (~76.3%) persistently urge to go outdoors and play with their friends; therefore, they could lag in social development. Further, observations from Pearson's correlation revealed that during lockdown, children's mental health is significantly related to the area of their house, number of children in the family, qualification of their mother and socio‐economic status of their family. Conclusions This study made it evident that the mental health of the children residing in Punjab, India, was compromised during the lockdown period induced by the COVID‐19 pandemic. Findings of this study may also trigger the international authorities to frame the guidelines of lockdown in the interest of mental health of their native children.

The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on child and adolescent mental health: systematic review

“…Older children (aged 10 to 12 years old) showed the lowest increase in hyperactivity. Child’s conduct problems and hyperactivity were negatively affected by age (ß = − 0.10, p < 0.01 and ß = − 0.09, p < 0.05) Sama et al 2020 [ 86 ] India Cross-sectional 310 42% Children ★★ 73.1% of the children were having signs of increased irritation and 51.2% of children reported increased signs of anger; 18.7% of parents reported symptoms of depression and 17.6% of parents also mentioned the symptoms of anxiety amongst their children. These factors were also affected by the changes in the child's diet, sleep, weight, and the increased usage of the electronic equipment Saurabh et al 2020 [ 87 ] India Cross-sectional 121 15% 15.4, 9–18 N.A Children and adolescents in quarantine experienced greater psychological distress than non-quarantined children and adolescents.…”

“…Most commonly evaluated outcomes in the included studies (see eTables 3–4) were anxiety (n = 35, 57.4%) and depression ( n = 24, 39.3%). Symptoms of anxiety exacerbation were reported during or related/associated to lockdown in 57.4% of studies [ 1 , 3 , 5 , 6 , 11 , 12 , 16 , 18 , 20 , 27 , 39 , 41 , 47 , 48 , 51 , 53 , 56 , 62 , 72 , 75 , 79 , 80 , 82 , 86 – 90 , 94 , 103 , 107 , 109 , 110 , 112 ]. The prevalence of symptoms of anxiety ranged from 1.8% [ 110 ] to 49.5% [ 41 ] between studies.…”

“…Symptoms of depression were the second most commonly reported outcomes ( n = 24, 39.3%) [ 2 , 7 , 12 , 18 , 20 , 25 , 41 , 47 , 48 , 56 , 62 , 63 , 72 , 80 , 83 , 86 , 89 , 94 , 106 , 107 , 109 – 112 ]. The prevalence of symptoms of depression ranged between 2.2% [ 110 ] and 63.8% [ 41 ] amongst studies.…”

“…Common risk factors for depression included female sex ( p < 0.001) [ 18 , 25 , 62 ], being an adolescent ( p < 0.01) [ 18 , 83 ], a high amount of COVID-19 cases in the area (OR = 2.3, p < 0.001) [ 83 , 107 ], and being exposed to a relative doing first-line job responsibilities related to COVID-19 ( p < 0.05) [ 20 ]. Anger and irritability were common outcomes within children and adolescents ranging from 30.0% [ 78 ] to 51.3% [ 86 ] and from 16.7% [ 6 ] to 73.2% [ 86 ], respectively.…”

COVID-19 lockdown and lifestyles: A narrative review

“…Lack of social interaction also has a negative impact as more time passes for older people, as evidenced by large cross-sectional studies in the UK 217,218 and Switzerland 219 . Children and adolescents have reported being more restless, irritable, and inattentive during the lockdown 220 with increased screen time being the likely contributor 221,222 along with worsening of relationships 223 and dysfunctional parenting 224 . Girls and women confined to homes and quarantine facilities faced increased family tensions, an overload of domestic work, and remain vulnerable to physical and emotional abuse 225 .…”