Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic among Adults in India: A Longitudinal Study

A longitudinal follow?up design was used to study the psychological distress and coping among 168 individuals immediately after the national lockdown and after 6 months of the pandemic. Psychological distress was measured using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS?21). The coping strategies used were measured by the Brief?COPE, and Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale (IUS?12) was employed to measure response to uncertainty. On follow?up, the prevalence rates for severe/very severe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress had increased substantially from time 1 to time 2. The stepwise multivariate regression analyses revealed that the change in the three DASS?21 scores over time was primarily predicted by intolerance of uncertainty as measured by the IUS?12 and dysfunctional style as assessed by the coping Brief?COPE. There is a need to implement public health policies that promote psychological resilience among high-risk groups.

Multiple risks and early language development.

Objective. To examine the relationship between cumulative biological and environmental risk factors and the language development of children less than 3 years. Methods. A sample of 253 children aged 2 to 35 months, from an urban centre in north India were evaluated for language development. The main outcome measure was the language quotient (LQ) of the child as evaluated by the Clinical Linguistic Auditory Milestone Scale (CLAMS). Twelve possible risk factors, 4 biological and 8 environmental, were selected. Biological risk factors included preterm birth, low birth weight, history of birth asphyxia, and history of neonatal jaundice. The environmental risk factors included low income, large family size, minimal father’s and mother’s education, disadvantaged caste, low level of occupation of head of the household, absence of father, and higher birth order. A multiple risk score was created and categorized into 3 groups: low risk (0 to1), moderate risk (2 to 3) and high risk (4 and above). Results. There was a significant (F=4.80, p<.000) general downward linear trend in the LQ of the child as the number of risk factors increased. The difference in the LQ of the children with no risk factor and those with 8 risk factors was 21.21 LQ points and each risk factor reduced the LQ of the children by 2.63 points. Conclusion. Children experience many risk factors but the most detrimental effects on language development are caused when multiple biological and environmental risk factors act on a single child.

Impact of parent and teacher concordance on diagnosing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and its sub-types.

OBJECTIVE: This study examines the extent to which parents and teachers agree on the diagnosis of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and its subtypes, as per the DSM IV criteria. It assesses whether the extent of agreement between informants improves by making the ADHD criteria more flexible. METHODS: Parents and teachers of 119 clinic-referred sample of children (mean age=8.4 years, S.D= 2.48) with disruptive behavioral symptoms completed the Vanderbilt Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Diagnostic Parent and Teacher Rating Scales, respectively. Concordance of parent and teacher reports for the presence or absence of diagnosis of ADHD and type of ADHD was examined by percent agreement and the kappa statistics. RESULTS: Of the 119 children referred for disruptive behavior disorders, 96 (80.6%) met criteria for any type of ADHD according to the parents' report; and only 68 (57.1%) met criteria according to the teachers' report. Parent and teacher agreement for the diagnosis of any type of ADHD was only 52% (k= .11, n.s); and the agreement regarding diagnosis of sub-type was even poorer. Making the criteria more flexible vis-à-vis impairment or number of symptoms did not improve agreement between the informants. CONCLUSION: Clear guidelines are needed to reconcile the differences between informants in order to promote uniform diagnostic practices among clinicians working with children having ADHD.