Abstract

A SHORT REVIEW ON COVID 19 AND CHILD PSYCHE: IMPACT AND PROBABLE REMEDIAL MEASURES

Kuntal Gupta*

Abstract

World Health Organization (WHO) has declared the 2019 Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) outbreak an international public health emergency in January, 2020. Majority of world’s population is primarily restricted to their homes, owing to nation-wide lockdowns and home-confinement strategies. In addition to physical sufferings, the consequences of this quarantine on the mental health and wellbeing at personal and population-levels are many folds. Studies showed that the pandemic has increased long term adverse consequences on children and adolescents particularly in the psychological domain compared to adults. The present review aimed to focus on various studies carried out since the outbreak of COVID-19 and its psychological effect on the younger children and the adolescent population. It is concluded from several studies that the nature and extent of this impact depend on several factors such as the age, education level, pre-existing mental health condition, socioeconomic status, state of infection or fear of infection and many more. Studies indicated that young children express more attachment, sleep disturbance, nightmares, poor appetite, inattentiveness and significant separation problems. Adolescents, on the other hand, showed increased use of internet and social media predisposes them to use internet compulsively, access objectionable content. Remedial measures at various levels such as family, educational institution, society have been suggested in various studies and in this role of parents, teachers, psychological counsellors, pediatricians are particularly emphasized.

Keywords: COVID-19, Mental Health, Children, Adolescent, Parents.