Impact of Covid on children mental health

Clear thesis statement

• Mental health issues have increased during the coronavirus pandemic; among the most affected are children.
• The introduction of lockdown restriction and quarantine required children to stay indoors, minimizing children’s interaction.
• The paper aims to examine the effects of coronavirus on children’s mental health by focusing on anxiety during the pandemic.

Support the thesis argument

• Recent researchers have stated that the Covid 19 pandemic will have a continued increased implication on children in the long run compared to adults.
• The extent and nature of the impact among children and adolescents are dependent on various factors.
•  There is increasing literature, which reviews the effects of the corona pandemic among children and adolescents in the long term.
• Lee, J. (2020) conducted a study to examine the implications of mental health among students. He noted that the absence of a school routine had a negative impact on children’s mental health.
• Most of the children sampled in the study showed signs of anxiety, depression, and stress due to minimized interaction and relations with peers.
•  Kang et al. (2020) conducted a study to examine the implication of anxiety among children during the Covid period.
• Such studies show that Covid has negatively affected children’s mental health by contributing to increased stress and anxiety levels among children, which can have long-term consequences.

Challenges of the disorder to the child and caregivers

• There are numerous challenges associated with anxiety affecting both children and caregivers.
• Anxiety can be manifested in different forms in children.
• Children who have anxiety issues manifested through anger can have challenges relating to their peers.
• Studies have shown that anxious children tend to be aggressive by demonstrating disobedient and hostile behavior directed towards peers, parents, and authorities.
• Caregivers are among the main group of individuals who experience immense challenges working or handling children with anxiety disorders.
• One of the challenges is dealing with a child with aggressive behaviors. This can result in failing to adhere to medical error treatment plans.
• The quality of treatment of mental disorders largely depends on the ability of caregivers to provide efficient care.
• This can be hindered by the uncooperative nature of the children with aggressive behavior as a result of their aggressiveness.
•  Furthermore, children suffering from anxiety disorder are likely to withdraw from communicating effectively with their caregivers.
• This can inhibit a caregiver from effectively communicating or interacting with such a child.

Evaluation of opportunities for treatment

• There are various treatments suitable for treating anxiety disorders among children.
• Kaczkurkin & Foa (2015) cite cognitive-behavioral therapy as an appropriate approach for treating anxiety.
• The methods are used among children with anxiety can help them recognize their feeling while learning coping skills.

Summary

• There are increasing studies, which focus on anxiety among children.
•  There is a significant step, which has been made in the treatment of anxiety as a disorder.
•  There are research gaps in studying children at risk of developing an anxiety disorder and neurological teachings, which can be used for detection.

Reference

Kaczkurkin, A. N., & Foa, E. B. (2015). Cognitive-behavioral therapy for anxiety disorders: an update on the empirical evidence. Dialogues in clinical neuroscience, 17(3), 337.

Kang, Y. Q., Lim, T. S., Ragen, E. S., Tan, M. Y., & Aishworiya, R. (2020). Managing Children’s Anxiety During COVID-19 Pandemic: Strategies for Providers and Caregivers. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11.

Lee, J. (2020). Mental health effects of school closures during COVID-19. The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health, 4(6), 421.

Strawn, J. R., Lu, L., Peris, T. S., Levine, A., & Walkup, J. T. (2021). Research Review: Pediatric anxiety disorders–what have we learnt in the last 10 years?. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 62(2), 114-139.