COVID and Children’s Mental Health: Financial hardship has taken a big toll

It is well known that the COVID-19 protocols have caused financial hardship, especially among the lower strata of the population. and middle-class families — and now a new study highlights the damage these struggles have done to children’s mental health.

A new study by researchers at Columbia University and Weill Cornell Medicine both in New Yorksuggests that family economic hardship was the biggest cause of “COVID-related stress, sadness, and anxiety” among children.

A study published on the JAMA network also found that COVID-related school closures had no effect on children’s mental health.

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The researchers analyzed data from the National Institutes of Health-funded Adolescent Cognitive Development Study. This study included 6,030 children aged 10 to 13 in 21 US cities between 2020 and 2021.

It also collected data from children and their caregivers about their experiences during the pandemic, including job loss, distance learning and COVID policy.

In addition, it included questions about the relationship between sleep and mental health.

New study suggests family economic hardship was the biggest driving force "stress, sadness and anxiety associated with COVID-19" among children during self-isolation.

A new study suggests that family economic hardship was the biggest cause of “COVID-19-related stress, sadness and anxiety” among children during lockdown. (iStock)

Dr. Michael Roske is a licensed clinical psychologist and senior director of the Newport Health Center. headquartered in Californiadid not participate in the study, but said he was not surprised that financial hardship had an impact on children’s mental health.

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“Children are often very susceptible to domestic stress,” he told Fox News Digital in an email.

“If there were feelings of insecurity and anxiety that are almost certainly associated with losing a job or having a cut in income, it would certainly affect them. overly stressed or frightened themselves, children can no longer feel safe at home. This could be devastating for development.”

“If parents are overly stressed or scared, children can no longer feel safe at home.”

And in even more severe cases, children may begin to worry about basic necessities and housing, he added.

Dr. Roske said he is seeing the effects of the pandemic firsthand through Newport Healthcare, which operates a number of mental health treatment centers across the country.

“We are counseling more children struggling with depression, anxiety and suicidal tendencies than ever before,” he said.

Study shows school closures had no effect on mental health

While other studies have found that school closures did cause a spike in children’s mental health problems, this study found no such link.

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Dr. Yunyu Xiao, associate professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, co-author of the study, offered one possible explanation for what may seem like a surprising lack of impact.

“If children had more protective factors such as increased parental care at home during the lockdown, it will help with mental health,” she said in an email to Fox News Digital.

"Children are often very attuned to stress in the family," one psychiatrist told Fox News Digital. "If there were feelings of insecurity and anxiety that are almost certainly associated with the loss of a job or a reduction in income, it would certainly affect them."

“Children are often very susceptible to domestic stress,” one psychiatrist told Fox News Digital. “If there was a sense of insecurity and anxiety that is almost certainly related to losing a job or having a cut in income, it would certainly affect them.” (iStock)

The study did not use specific indicators of mental health, so it is not possible to speak about the severity or the emergence of new disorders, the doctor said. roske

“Of course, it’s hard to argue that there was no link between school closures and children’s mental health, given the isolation, uncertainty, and even extra time on devices that occurred as a result,” he said.

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“Disrupting your normal daily routine in this extreme way can cause anxiety and symptoms of depression.”

Communication, mental health are key

To protect children’s mental health during difficult times, it’s important to maintain age-appropriate communication channels and carefully consider how much children hear and know about any financial hardship, Roeske said.

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“Know signs of distressFor example, changes in behavior, diet and sleep,” he said.

“And seek help from your child if the situation does not improve or continues to worsen; don’t wait until things get really bad.”

It is important for parents to recognize the signs of distress and know how to get help for their children.

It is important for parents to recognize the signs of distress and know how to get help for their children. (iStock)

Dr. Roske noted that many parents do not know where to turn for help.

He cited a recent survey of 1,000 parents of teens aged 13-17 by Wakefield Research for Newport Healthcare.

The researchers did not look at the severity or occurrence of new psychiatric disorders.

While nearly half of parents (46%) reported that the pandemic allowed them to see more of their teens’ mental health issues during quarantine and distance learning, nearly 70% didn’t know what to do if their teen had issues that might require care.

The study had limitations

Since the data was self-supplied, Dr. Xiao said that there is a possibility that the answers were biased or inaccurate. In addition, the researchers did not look at the severity or occurrence of new psychiatric disorders.

“Future research should include more accurate measures of mental health, such as clinical scales, and use cutting-edge methods for more efficient bias-corrected assessments,” she said.

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There may also be other devastating factors, such as a COVID-19-related death in the family, that can affect mental health. Xiao also said.

“While our research aimed to correct bias due to family financial and school disruptions, this does not mean that there are no other significant disruptions,” she explained.

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The study also did not have a large enough sample to segment by race, age, gender, or family background.