COVID-19 and Its Association with Psychological Health of Children, Adolescents and Young Adults

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been causing a severe threat to multiple sectors, including people's psychosocial health. The main objective of this review is to identify the association of COVID-19 pandemic with the psychological health of children, adolescents and young adults. Total 18 primary studies, including most of the studies being cross sectional descriptive studies, were included in the review. The review found that the prevalence of anxiety levels among children ranges from 23.87 % to 38%. Similarly, in adolescents, it ranged from 29.27% to 31% and depression level ranges from 22.28% to 44.5 %. The prevalence of depression in young adults was found to be nearly 82 % while the prevalence of anxiety was found to be nearly 88 %.Most of the studies identified COVID-19 as major factor contributing to anxiety, depression and sleep disorders in children, adolescents and young adults. In the review, almost half of the papers described the factors associated with mental health status due to COVID-19 pandemic. The major factors to increase anxiety and depression were found to be restriction on movement, social distancing, closures of schools, little interaction with peers, educational status, smartphone and internet addiction, frequent watching, listening, or reading news related with COVID-19. Thus, efforts must be initiated to improve services within the country to overcome the increasing mental health problems in these groups. The findings of this review would be relevant for all health professionals, medical persons, and educational institutions to sensitize them about the prevalence of psychological problems among children, adolescents and young adults in terms of overcoming and addressing this pressing issue.