Psychological and emotional response to lockdown in children during the ongoing pandemic COVID-19 in urban areas of Jaipur

ABSTRACT

Background: In the year 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic created havoc in people's lives across the entire world. The pandemic created fear and uncertainty, and Lockdowns were enforced for containment of the disease, impacting the general population's mental well-being as well. The dearth of studies on the subject, particularly on Children and adolescents, creates a vacuum of information which hinders the strategy formulation for effective handling of such issues. Aim: The research aimed to study the psychological impact of Lockdown on children & adolescents in tier 2 city of India. Methods: The study was conducted through online surveys in the city of Jaipur in Rajasthan state of India using the Snowball sampling technique. The Study group included children between the age of 6 to 16 years and assessment of the mental well-being of the participants were done using Short Mood &Feeling Questionnaire (SMFQ). Result: A total of 301 valid responses were received, from which 38 (12.22%) children scored high on SMFQ wherein female adolescents scored higher than males. A total of 10 out 21 children with a history of medical illness scored high on SMFQ and a total of 2 out of 4 children with a past history of psychiatric illness scored high on SMFQ. The data analysis revealed that most of the children struggled with feelings of restlessness, fatigue, unhappiness, and difficulty in concentration. Conclusion: Lockdown has affected mental well-being of both children and adolescents. The impact was observed equally in both groups wherein those with psychiatric history were affected more than others in the 6-11 years age group (Children) and those with medical history were affected more than others in the 11-16 years age group (Adolescents). Immediate attention is needed for alleviation of mental burnout in children and adolescents considering already inadequate interventions in the matter and the ongoing nature of the pandemic.