Pediatric home confinement due to COVID‐19: Somatic and anxiety spectrum consequences

Abstract

Aims and Objectives We aimed to determine the impact of COVID‐19 related home confinement on the paediatric population by focusing on anxiety, behavioural disturbances and somatic symptoms. Background To limit the spread of the COVID‐19 outbreak, governments have imposed nationwide lockdowns to prevent direct contact; this has affected everyday lives and activities such as attending school classes. Such isolation may have impacted children’s anxiety levels. Design and Methods We conducted a cross‐sectional observational study using a web‐based anonymous questionnaire from 22–26 April, 2020, among children ( N = 2,292) in Spain. For children below 7 years of age, parents reported the children’s behavioural, emotional and somatic symptoms and family environment data on a questionnaire designed by the researchers. Children over 7 years answered the Revised Children’s Manifest Anxiety Scale either independently or with their parents’ assistance. Results Children over 7 years, boys in particular, scored high on the anxiety spectrum. Moreover, participants who knew someone who had suffered from COVID‐19 at home or whose parent was directly involved in the pandemic, obtained higher Total Anxiety scores. Significantly high values were found in all aspects of anxiety among those who feared infection or whose parents been unemployed. Of the children below 7 years, 56.3% had four or more anxiety‐related symptoms, the most frequent of which were tantrums, emotional changes, restlessness and fear of being alone. The number of symptoms reported was significant when someone in the family home had been infected with COVID‐19. Conclusions The COVID‐19 home confinement had a significant impact on children, causing anxiety, behavioural problems and somatic manifestations. Relevance to clinical practice Nurses play a key role in screening children who have experience confinement owing to the COVID‐19 pandemic in order to detect early anxiety symptoms using tele‐health. Suitable direct interventions can then be implemented or interdisciplinary manage could be started.

Emotional Problems in Spanish Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

“…Another study found that adolescent girls had higher levels of depression, anxiety, and stress (Tamarit et al, 2020). However, in contrast to this information, two studies concluded that boys had higher anxiety scores (Francisco et al, 2020;García-Adasme et al, 2021).…”

“…Of the 27 studies that make up this review, seven concluded that age could be considered a risk factor for different emotional problems. Of these seven studies, three found that children over the age of 7, pre-adolescents, and adolescents scored higher in anxiety (Castillo-Martínez et al, 2020;García-Adasme et al, 2021;Lavigne-Cerván et al, 2021). Thus, Pizarro-Ruiz and Ordóñez-Camblor (2021) concluded that adolescents had higher rates of anxiety, depression, and emotion-regulation problems.…”

“…An unstructured parenting style has been related to emotion-regulation problems (Domínguez-Álvarez, López-Romero, Isdahl-Troye, et al, 2020) and emotional problems (Romero et al, 2020). Moreover, family conflicts have been linked to emotional problems in adolescents (Ezpeleta et al, 2020), and parental unemployment has been related to anxiety in their children (García-Adasme et al, 2021).…”

How Did the COVID-19 Lockdown Affect Children and Adolescent's Well-Being: Spanish Parents, Children, and Adolescents Respond

“…On the other hand, knowing someone who died from COVID-19 was associated with sleeping disturbances, as well as the statement “being afraid or anxious about going outside.” Accordingly, it has been shown that children who knew someone who had suffered from COVID-19 at home or whose parent was directly involved in the pandemic, presented higher anxiety scores ( 18 ). Of note, anxiety and irritability were reported for the majority of children and adolescents, being the youngest the most affected.…”

“…Similar results have been recently described ( 14 , 17 , 19 , 20 ) and underline the need to consider how we communicate information to children and help them manage this information. Furthermore, it has been shown that anxiety and depressive symptoms and other negative outcomes were more likely in children whose parents reported higher levels of stress, depression or were unemployed ( 18 , 20 – 23 ), and that those were often more important among the youngest ones ( 20 ). Thus, supporting parents' mental health and providing them with accurate information, strategies and support to cope with lockdown is essential to protect their children's mental health ( 24 , 25 ).…”