Indian Journal of Health and Wellbeing

Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Subscription Access
Open Access Open Access Open Access  Restricted Access Restricted Access Subscription Access

Addressing the Mental Health Issues of Children and Adolescents in COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comprehensive Approach


Affiliations
1 Senior Research Fellow-UGC, Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
2 Clinical Psychologist, Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
3 Ph.D. Student, Department of Psychology & Clinical Psychologist, Research Project from CPEPA, University of Calcutta, by DCRT, Govt. of W. B., Kolkata, West Bengal, India
4 Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
     

   Subscribe/Renew Journal


Since its onset in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated mankind in all possible aspects of life, hurting the children and adolescents in an extensive manner. This article presents various reflections obtained from our clinical and research activities with the children and adolescents in the community continuing through the pandemic months. The psychological well-being of the children and adolescents, across various ages and strata of the society, has reached new lows with each passing month. Research has shown a steep rise in the mental health problems in this population worldwide. This article talks about the multidimensional adverse impact of the pandemic faced by those residing at their own homes, enrolled and not enrolled in school and those living in institutions and streets. It is proposed that there is the need for a comprehensive child-friendly approach to render mental health intervention for these children and adolescents. The multifaceted strategies discussed in this approach address their mental health difficulties related to family, studies, school and different socio-economic conditions to uphold their best interests and psychological well-being.These needs to be done while taking in consideration the socio-cultural context and also maintaining the COVID-19 protocol as necessary in different settings. It should be involving all the stakeholders, like, parents, caregivers, teachers, school and other institutional staff, peers, mental health professionals and the significant others in the community. This can lead to create a better safe and sound place for the children and adolescents even among the pandemic blues.

Keywords

child, adolescent, mental health, COVID-19 pandemic, comprehensive approach
Subscription Login to verify subscription
User
Notifications
Font Size


  • % students have no phones, 28% lack electricity for online classes: NCERT survey (2020, August, 20). Deccan chronicle. https://www.deccanchronicle.com/nation/ current-affairs/200820/27-students-have-no-phones-28-lack-electricity-foronline- classes.html

  • Abramson, A. (2020, April 8). How COVID-19 may increase domestic violence and child abuse. American Psychological Association. https://www.apa.org/top ics/covid-19/domestic-violence-child-abuse

  • Adams, E. L., Smith, D., Caccavale, L. J., & Bean, M. K. (2021). Parents are stressed! patterns of parent stress across COVID-19. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 626456. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.626456

  • Albuquerque, S., & Santos, A. R. (2021). In the same storm, but not on the same boat: Children grief during the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 638866. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2021.638866

  • Arakal, R. A. (2020, October 9). Covid-19 impact: Anxiety, stress-related issues observed in children, including those of frontline workers. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/bangalore/covid-19-impact-anxiety-stressrelated- issues-observed-in-children-including-those-of-frontline-workers-6715961/

  • Barlett, C. P., Rinker, A., & Roth, B. (2021). Cyberbullying perpetration in the COVID- 19 era: An application of general strain theory. The Journal of Social Psychology, 161(4), 466-476. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224545.2021.1883503

  • Besser, A., Lotem, S., & Zeigler-Hill, V. (2020). Psychological stress and vocal symptoms among university professors in Israel: Implications of the shift to online synchronous teaching during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Voice: Official Journal of the Voice Foundation, S0892-1997(20), 30190-30199. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvoice.2020.05.028

  • Campbell, A. M. (2020). An increasing risk of family violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: Strengthening community collaborations to save lives. Forensic Science International Reports, 2, 100089. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fsir.2020.100089

  • Chachar, A. S., Younus, S., & Ali, W. (2021). Developmental understanding of death and grief among children during COVID-19 pandemic: Application of bronfenbrenner's bioecological model. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 654584. https://doi.org/10.3389/f psyt.2021.654584

  • Chaturvedi, P. (2020, June 18). Children and the pandemic: Disruption in health services, suspension of mid-day meals, use of ASHA workers for COVID-related activities could aggravate India's malnutrition problem. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/covid-19-india-children-malnu trition-6465373/

  • Chaubey, A. K. (2020, August 22). Online education amid COVID-19 pandemic causing digital divide among students. Zee News. https://zeenews.india.com/ india/online-education-amid-covid-19-pandemic-causing-digital-divide-amongstudents- 2304432.html

  • Children falling prey to psychological issues due to second Covid wave: Experts (2021, December 5). The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/hea lth/children-falling-prey-to-psychological-issues-due-to-second-covid-waveexperts- 7379901/

  • Chung, S. K. G., Lanier, P., & Wong, P. (2020). Mediating effects of parental stress on harsh parenting and parent-child relationship during coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Singapore. Journal of Family Violence, 37(5), 1-12. https://doi.org /10.1007/s10896-020-00200-1

  • Covid: Domestic violence cases increase three-fold during lockdown in Bengaluru. (2021, July 9). Timesnownews.com. https://www.timesnownews.com/bengaluru/art icle/covid-domestic-violence-cases-increase-three-fold-during-lockdown-in-benga luru/782534

  • Dar, S. A., & Lone, N. A. (2021). Impact of COVID 19 on education in India. Kala: The Journal of Indian Art History Congress, 26(2(XIV)), 46-55.

  • Ford, T., John, A., & Gunnell, D. (2021). Mental health of children and young people during pandemic. British Medical Journal, 372, 614. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj. n614

  • Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists (2020a). Psychological counselling during COVID-19 outbreak. http://iacp.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/COVID-19- Counselling.pptx-compressed.pdf

  • Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists (2020b). Tele-counselling instructions during COVID-19 for volunteers. http://iacp.in/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Telecounselling- Instructions-April-7.pdf

  • Indian Association of Clinical Psychologists (2020c). Front-line medical professionals brief psychological interventions during a time of crisis. http://iacp.in/wpcontent/ uploads/2020/04/FRONT-LINE-MEDICAL-PROFESSIONALS.pdf

  • Jain, O., Gupta, M., Satam, S., & Panda, S. (2020). Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the susceptibility to cyberbullying in India? Computers in Human Behaviour Reports, 2, 100029. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chbr.2020.100029

  • Jejeebhoy, S. (2021, June 23). Child marriages during the pandemic. The India Forum. https://www.theindiaforum.in/article/child-marriages-during-pandemic

  • Khare, V. (2021, November 23). How child sex abuse rose during pandemic in India. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-59173473

  • King, D. L., Delfabbro, P. H., Billieux, J., & Potenza, M. N. (2020). Problematic online gaming and the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Behavioural Addictions, 9(2), 184- 186. https://doi.org/10.1556/2006.2020.00016

  • Krishnakumar, A., & Verma, S. (2021). Understanding domestic violence in India during COVID-19: A routine activity approach. Asian Journal of Criminology, 16(1), 19-35. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11417-020-09340-1

  • Kumar, A., Nayar, K. R., & Bhat, L. D. (2020). Debate: COVID-19 and children in India. Child and Adolescent Mental Health, 25(3), 165-166. https://doi.org/10.1111/camh. 12398

  • Leeb, R. T., Bitsko, R. H., Radhakrishnan, L., Martinez, P., Njai, R., & Holland, K. M. (2020). Mental health-related emergency department visits among children aged <18 years during the COVID-19 pandemic-United States. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 69(45), 1675-1680. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6945a3

  • Marques de Miranda, D., da Silva Athanasio, B., Sena Oliveira, A. C., & Simoes-E-Silva, A. C. (2020). How is COVID-19 pandemic impacting mental health of children and adolescents? International Journal of Disaster Risk Reduction, 51, 101845. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijdrr.2020.101845

  • Mazumdar, J. (2021, September, 5). Kolkata schools complain of helicopter parenting. The Telegraph online. https://www.telegraphindia.com/my-kolkata/news/cityschools- are-complaining-of-helicopter-parenting/cid/1829406

  • Modak, S. (2021, June 13). Trials stalled during pandemic, no bail: Children in conflict with law remain stuck in observation home for years in Mumbai. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/mumbai-covid-children-in-conf lict-with-law-observation-home-7357437/

  • Mondal, M. S. A., Kabir, H., & Hasan, M. K. (2021). Psychological effects of COVID-19 on children of frontline nurses. Population Medicine, 3, 25. https://doi.org/10.18332 /popmed/142558

  • Pereda, N., & Díaz-Faes, D. A. (2020). Family violence against children in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic: A review of current perspectives and risk factors. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 14(40), 1-7. https://doi.org/10.1186/s 13034-020-00347-1

  • Prado-Gascó, V., Gómez-Domínguez, M. T., Soto-Rubio, A., Díaz-Rodríguez, L., & Navarro-Mateu, D. (2020). Stay at home and teach: A comparative study of psychosocial risks between spain and mexico during the pandemic. Frontiers in Psychology, 11, 566900. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.566900

  • Racine, N., McArthur, B. A., Cooke, J. E., Eirich, R., Zhu, J., & Madigan, S. (2021).Global prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents during COVID-19: A meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 175(11), 1142-1150. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.2482

  • Roy, D. (2020, November 5). 5 problems you can face in online learning and how to deal with them. India Today Web Desk. https://www.indiatoday.in/educationtoday/ featurephilia/story/5-problems-you-can-face-in-online-learning-and-howto- deal-with-them-1738361-2020-11-05

  • Shorey, S., Lau, L., Tan, J. X., Ng, E. D., & Aishworiya, R. (2021). Families with Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders during COVID-19: A Scoping Review. Journal of Paediatric Psychology, 46(5), 514-525. https://doi.org/10.1093/ jpepsy/jsab029

  • Singh, A. (2021, November 22). Delhi: With lockdowns gone, child abuse cases increase from previous year. The Times of India. https://timesofindia.indiatimes. com/city/delhi/with-lockdowns-gone-child-abuse-cases-increase-from-previousyear/ articleshow/87837103.cms

  • Singh, R. K. & Frederick, O. (2021, May 13). Child trafficking suspected behind pleas for adoption of Covid 'orphans'. Hindustan Times. https://www.hindustantimes. com/india-news/child-trafficking-suspected-behind-pleas-for-adoption-of-covidorphans- 101620898370713.html

  • Singh, S., Roy, D., Sinha, K., Parveen, S., Sharma, G., & Joshi, G. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on mental health of children and adolescents: A narrative review with recommendations. Psychiatry Research, 293, 113429. https://doi.org /10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113429

  • Śniadach, J., Szymkowiak, S., Osip, P., & Waszkiewicz, N. (2021). Increased depression and anxiety disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic in children and adolescents: A literature review. Life (Basel, Switzerland), 11(11), 1188. https://doi.org/10.3390/life11111188

  • Stachteas, P., & Stachteas, C. (2020). The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on secondary school teachers. Psychiatriki, 31(4), 293-301. https://doi.org/10.22365/jpsych.2020.314.293

  • Stanford-led study highlights the importance of letting kids take the lead (2021, March 11). Stanford News. https://news.stanford.edu/2021/03/11/study-reveals-impactmuch- parental-involvement/

  • Summers, J., Baribeau, D., Mockford, M., Goldhopf, L., Ambrozewicz, P., Szatmari, P., &Vorstman, J. (2021). Supporting children with neurodevelopmental disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 60(1), 2-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.09.011

  • Technical issues, pandemic trauma, lack of motivation, time management skills: Students suffer through online classes (2020, August 25). Edex Live. https://www.edexlive.com/news/2020/aug/25/technical-issues-pandemic-trauma-- time-management-students-suffer-through-online-classes-14127.html

  • UNICEF (2021a). 10 million additional girls at risk of child marriage due to COVID- 19. https://www.unicef.org/press-releases/10-million-additional-girls-risk-childmarriage- due-covid-19

  • UNICEF. (2021b). The state of the world's children 2021; on my mind: Promoting, protecting and caring for children's mental health. https://www.unicef.org/report s/state-worlds-children-2021?utm_source=referral&utm_medium=media&utm_ campaign=sowc-web

  • UNICEF (2021c). UNICEF report spotlights on the mental health impact of COVID-19 in children and young people. https://www.unicef.org/india/press-releases/unicefreport- spotlights-mental-health-impact-covid-19-children-and-young-people

  • Vaid, D. (2020, July 10). How coronavirus is affecting underprivileged children in India. DW. https://www.dw.com/en/how-coronavirus-is-affecting-underprivi leged-children-in-india/a-54125032

  • Yeung, J., & Sur, P. (2020, October, 26). The pandemic has created a second crisis in India the rise of child trafficking. CNN. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/24/asia /india-covid-child-trafficking-intl-hnk-dst/index.html


Abstract Views: 212

PDF Views: 0




  • Addressing the Mental Health Issues of Children and Adolescents in COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comprehensive Approach

Abstract Views: 212  |  PDF Views: 0

Authors

Priyanka Podder
Senior Research Fellow-UGC, Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Rudrani Chatterjee
Clinical Psychologist, Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Saranya Banerjee
Ph.D. Student, Department of Psychology & Clinical Psychologist, Research Project from CPEPA, University of Calcutta, by DCRT, Govt. of W. B., Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Sanjukta Das
Professor, Department of Psychology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

Abstract


Since its onset in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic has devastated mankind in all possible aspects of life, hurting the children and adolescents in an extensive manner. This article presents various reflections obtained from our clinical and research activities with the children and adolescents in the community continuing through the pandemic months. The psychological well-being of the children and adolescents, across various ages and strata of the society, has reached new lows with each passing month. Research has shown a steep rise in the mental health problems in this population worldwide. This article talks about the multidimensional adverse impact of the pandemic faced by those residing at their own homes, enrolled and not enrolled in school and those living in institutions and streets. It is proposed that there is the need for a comprehensive child-friendly approach to render mental health intervention for these children and adolescents. The multifaceted strategies discussed in this approach address their mental health difficulties related to family, studies, school and different socio-economic conditions to uphold their best interests and psychological well-being.These needs to be done while taking in consideration the socio-cultural context and also maintaining the COVID-19 protocol as necessary in different settings. It should be involving all the stakeholders, like, parents, caregivers, teachers, school and other institutional staff, peers, mental health professionals and the significant others in the community. This can lead to create a better safe and sound place for the children and adolescents even among the pandemic blues.

Keywords


child, adolescent, mental health, COVID-19 pandemic, comprehensive approach

References