Loading...
COVID-19-related school closures have affected over 1.5 billion children around the world. Concern has been raised about adverse mental health consequences of social isolation, lack of access to usual therapies and activities, and family stress related to finances and illness.
To examine children's psychological adjustment, researchers surveyed 1784 children in grades 2 to 6 living in Hubei province whose schools had been closed for over a month. Overall, 22.6% of students reported depression symptoms and 18.9% reported anxiety symptoms —– both rates are higher than baseline rates reported for children in Asia. Rates of depression symptoms were higher in children who lived in Wuhan (compared with another city in Hubei province), children who…