The mental health of children has been particularly fragile since the start of the health crisis. Difficulties in understanding the situation, schools closed, families and loved ones vulnerable to the virus, children face many unknowns and concerns. A study coordinated by Santé Publique France in partnership with Inserm, CNRS, various hospitals and universities, provides more information on the impact of the first confinement on the morale of children in France.
A total of 3,898 children (including 81 young people in the care of child protection) were interviewed via an online questionnaire, between June 2020 and September 2020. The idea was to link their state of mental health and their living conditions during and after the first confinement.
Housing conditions are decisive
What emerges is that teenagers are the most affected by this period. Girls more than boys, both during and after confinement. This explains why some children are more affected than others has been studied. The main factor is the type of accommodation : impossibility to isolate oneself, to go out in a garden, to be numerous in a small space, are the first causes of psychological distress in children.
Then come the economic conditions, including the professional situation of the parents, financial and therefore food difficulties or even less access to the internet. This distress is influenced by the situation of the parents and the help they received. Finally, the study points out that “the lack of activities, the increase in time spent on social networks and screens, the feeling of being overwhelmed in relation to school work, the Covid-19 infection of a close and hospitalization following Covid-19”, are also linked to distress.
As psychologist Lucie Roger explained to Top Santé in an article on children’s anxieties about Covid-19, the study concludes that it is essential to maintain activities with children. Whether extracurricular or simply regular outings. Single-parent families require financial support and appropriate information must be promoted to help children and adolescents cope with psychological distress.
Source : Weekly epidemiological bulletin Santé Publique France, May 2021.
Read also:
- Children and teenagers psychiatric package: how to benefit from it?
- Confinement: 8 signs that indicate suffering in children
