The invisible sufferers of the COVID-19 pandemic: Mental health impact and intervention for children and adolescents

ABSTRACT

Children and adolescents frequently bear the brunt of psychosocial as well as global issues going on in their environment silently. They are particularly vulnerable during public health emergencies like pandemics due to their limited understanding of the event, inadequate coping strategies and inability to communicate their feelings like adults. In the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the initial phases of understanding the illness, methods of treatment and disease containment have been formulated and initiated. The next area of priority can focus on the potential short and long-term negative repercussions of such a massive and unpredictable pandemic. This paper focuses in the domains of psychological impact and manifestations in children and adolescents, impact on parents, impact of prolonged school closure and interventions for the same.