The Effect of Covid-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of Children, Adolescents and Young Adults

Abstract

Introduction: Both the social distance and the quarantine associated with measures to limit the spread of Covid-19 significantly affect children. They cause negative feelings of anxiety, depression, intense fear and a variety of symptoms associated with them. The aim of the study is to summarize the published articles concerning the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of children, adolescents and young adults (1–24 years old). Material and Method: This is a systematic review of the published literature. Bibliographic search of scientific articles in the electronic databases Medline (PubMed) and Scopus from March 2020 to June 2020. The criteria for inclusion of an article in the study were: The language of publication of the article should be English, it should be completely relevant to the subject of the study, it should be a research study, it should be published in a valid scientific journal, and it should be published from November 2019 and after. Results: After a systematic and critical review of the articles, 9 articles were included in the study. These articles showed that the Covid-19 pandemic increased fear, anxiety and depression in children who experienced its effects, especially those in quarantine. In particular, children experienced due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic low levels of anxiety (30.9–40.1%), moderate to severe anxiety (24.9-37.4%) and severe symptoms of depression (6.5-43,7%). Compared to adults, children experienced lower stress. Among the factors that appear to exacerbate anxiety and depression are living in areas with high levels of the epidemic and fear that family members could be infected with Covid-19. While among the factors that seem to have a positive effect on anxiety and depression are information about the disease, social support and a stable family environment and income. Conclusions: The effect of Covid-19 pandemic on the mental health of children, adolescents and young adults seems to be great and efforts should be made to address it effectively.