ABSTRACT

Background: Children and adolescents are affected in various ways by the lockdown measures due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, it is crucial to better understand the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in this age-group.

Objective: The objective was to investigate and compare the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in three age groups (1–6 years, 7–10 years, 11–19 years) and to examine the associations with psychological factors.

Methods: An anonymous online survey was conducted from 9 April to 11 May 2020 during the acute phase of major lockdown measures. In this cross-sectional study, children and adolescents aged between 1 and 19 years were recruited as a population-based sample. They were eligible if they were residents in Austria, Germany, Liechtenstein or Switzerland, were parents/caregivers of a child aged between 1 and 10 years or adolescents ≥11 years, had sufficient German language skills and provided informed consent.

Results: Among 5823 participants, between 2.2% and 9.9% reported emotional and behavioural problems above the clinical cut-off and between 15.3% and 43.0% reported an increase in these problems during the pandemic. Significant age-related effects were found regarding the type and frequency of problems (χ²₍₄₎≥50.2, P ≤ 0.001). While preschoolers (1–6 years) had the largest increase in oppositional-defiant behaviours, adolescents reported the largest increase in emotional problems. Adolescents experienced a significantly larger decrease in emotional and behavioural problems than both preschoolers and school-children. Sociodemographic variables, exposure to and appraisal of COVID-19, psychotherapy before COVID-19 and parental mental health significantly predicted change in problem-scores (F ≥ 3.69, P ≤ 0.001).

Conclusion: A substantial proportion of children and adolescents experience age-related mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic. These problems should be monitored, and support should be offered to risk-groups to improve communication, emotion regulation and appraisal style.

摘要

背景：由于 COVID-19 大流行，儿童和青少年受到封锁措施的各种影响。因此，更好地了解 COVID-19 大流行对该年龄段心理健康的影响至关重要。

目的：目的是调查和比较 COVID-19 大流行对三个年龄组（1-6 岁、7-10 岁、11-19 岁）心理健康的影响，并检查与心理因素的关联。

方法：在主要封锁措施的紧急阶段，于 2020 年 4 月 9 日至 5 月 11 日进行了一项匿名在线调查。在这项横断面研究中，招募了 1 至 19 岁的儿童和青少年作为人口样本。如果他们是奥地利、德国、列支敦士登或瑞士的居民，是 1 至 10 岁儿童或 ≥11 岁青少年的父母/看护人，具备足够的德语语言能力并提供知情同意，则他们符合资格。

结果：在 5823 名参与者中，2.2% 至 9.9% 的人报告情绪和行为问题高于临床临界值，15.3% 至 43.0% 的人报告在大流行期间这些问题有所增加。在问题的类型和频率方面发现了显着的年龄相关影响 (χ ² ₍₄₎ ≥50.2, P≤ 0.001)。学龄前儿童（1-6 岁）的反抗行为增加最多，而青少年报告的情绪问题增加最多。与学龄前儿童和学龄儿童相比，青少年的情绪和行为问题明显减少。社会人口学变量、接触和评估 COVID-19、COVID-19 之前的心理治疗和父母的心理健康显着预测了问题评分的变化（F ≥ 3.69，P ≤ 0.001）。

结论：在 COVID-19 大流行期间，相当一部分儿童和青少年经历了与年龄相关的心理健康问题。应对这些问题进行监测，并向风险群体提供支持，以改善沟通、情绪调节和评估方式。