Understanding  the perceived health outcomes of children during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The study explored the lockdown and quarantine on the perceived psychological distress and other life outcomes of children after the outbreak of COVID-19 in recent past. The study employed the Narrative Thematic Research Design and chose a heterogeneous sample of 20 full-time mothers to report the experiences of the restrictions of their children aged 9-11 years. These mothers were the primary source of data about the impacts of lockdown and quarantine on their children. A telephonic semistructured interview protocol was used to collect data. Four themes were generated: poor social and emotional responsivity, decreased interest in studies and other creative activities, psychological distress symptoms and negative health outcomes. Anxiety, irritation, quarrelling behaviours, anger, frustration, low feeling, reduced interest in games, boredom etc. were observed in children. Sleep disturbances, complaints of indigestion and multiple complaints of body aches were major negative health outcomes. The findings showed a variety of negative psychological and health outcomes for children due to the extreme restrictions, uncertainty, apprehension, reduced positive engagement and lowered social connection after the outbreak of the pandemic. Preventive and protective measures are recommended with concerted efforts of parents, school and community to guard children against the ill-consequences of current and future pandemics.

COVID‐19 related anxiety in children and adolescents with severe obesity: A mixed‐methods study

“…Another study in children with cystic fibrosis in Turkey also did not find a difference in anxiety scores between their patients and age‐matched controls 21 . In the general population, severe stress and traumatizing symptoms in children have been reported in a qualitative study from India and COVID‐19 related restrictions seemed to be the primary cause 22 . This is in line with a previous qualitative report on the 2003 SARS and 2009 H1N1 pandemics, which showed that 30% of children who had been isolated or quarantined met the clinical cut‐off score for post‐traumatic stress disorder 23 .…”

Behavioral limitations of individuals for coping with COVID-19: A terror management perspective

“…The authorities should understand that the recommended strategy of lockdowns and social distancing-which are the need to slow down the spread of the outbreak and protect people from the virus-could have tremendous psychological impacts on people health. The early psychological and mental issues such as disturbance, severe emotional attachment, irritability, fear, resistance, anger, stubborn, frustration, hopelessness, sleeping disorder, and digestive problems in children of China and India due to the COVID-19 lockdowns were observed (Jiao et al, 2020;Tiwari et al, 2020). Also, it is vital to understand the psychological factors that may affect the pandemic related preventative behavior (e.g., news monitoring, social distancing, hygiene) and antisocial behavior (e.g., hoarding supplies) (Oosterhoff, 2020).…”

The life outcomes of children during COVID-19: Exploring the protective roles of the joint and nuclear families in India

“…Besides, these children also understand the necessity and compulsion of the adherence to the restrictions of the lockdown. It has been suggested that the children of this age group develop some sense of life goals, able to share their positive and negative experiences with their caregivers and reflect some understanding of life realities and broader human collectives (Tiwari, Singh, et al, 2020). In this backdrop, the present study aims to explore the protective roles of joint and nuclear families in shaping the life outcomes of children with age ranging between 9 years to 12 years during the restrictions of COVID-19 through a qualitative research design.…”

“…A full-time mother was the incessant primary caregiver from birth to the present (Ahirwar et al, 2019). In some previous studies, collecting data from the parents, especially full-time mothers of younger children have been reported to be useful (Ahirwar et al, 2019;Tiwari, Singh, et al, 2020). The current study chose children between 9 years to 12 years.…”