This study aims to understand how children and adolescents aged 9 to 16 years experienced confinement in France and how it may have affected their well-being
Keywords: Mental health; Resilience; Children and adolescents; COVID-19; Lockdown
Results
A greater impact on the mental health of adolescents compared to younger children both during and after the lockdown, with girls appeared to have poorer mental health than boys.
Factors associated with psychological distress include housing conditions, economic conditions and parental characteristics.
A lack of recreational activity increased the use of social networks and screens, a feeling of being overwhelmed by school work, having a relative who was infected with SARS-CoV-2 or hospitalized due to the virus were also associated with greater distress.
In contrast, higher resilience scores were associated with better living conditions, a two-parent family composition, higher levels of parental education, having social support, and participating in recreational activities during lockdown.
Description of the Study:
- Title: Etude CONFEADO : premiers résultats des facteurs associés à la résilience et à la santé mentale des enfants et des adolescents lors du premier confinement lié à la Covid-19 en France.
- Principal Investigators: Stéphanie Vandentorren, Imane Khirredine, Mégane Estevez, Carla De Stefano, Dalila Rezzoug, Nicolas Oppenchaim, Pascale Haag, Sarah Gensburger, Anne Oui, Emeline Delaville, Agnès Gindt-Ducros and Enguerrand Habran.
- Centres of Implementation: Santé Publique France, Hôpital Avicenne de Bobigny, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord, Université Bordeaux, Université de Tours, Centre national de ressources et de résilience (CN2R), École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS), Lab School Network, le CNRS et avec le soutien du Fonds FHF.
- Study Population: 3898 children and adolescents were included, including 81 youth in child welfare.
- Study Type: Descriptive study.
- Methods: Data were collected via an online parent and child questionnaire from 9 June to 14 September 2020, which collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, living conditions, and the impact of lockdown. Health inequalities were a key focus in the questionnaire. Psychological health was assessed using self-reported responses to psychometric scales. Bivariate analyses were performed via chi-squared tests to describe distress and emotional state and Student’s t-test or ANOVA test to describe resilience, by age and sex, according to living conditions, parental characteristics, and activities.
Objectives of the Study:
Principal Objective: To assess the emotional status and levels of psychological distress of children aged 9 to 18 years old during and after the first lockdown based on their environment and living conditions, as well as to measure resilience and strategies to preserve their well-being. This study was also extended to young people living in child welfare.
More about this Study:
The COVID-19 pandemic, combined with school closures and the circumstances of the first lockdown in France from March to May 2020, have contributed to the exacerbation of existing social inequalities. However, currently, there is a lack of studies in France that explore the impact of living conditions on the mental health of children and adolescents during the lockdown.
Added value: This study offers the particularity of having given a voice to children and adolescents, of having taken into account the diversity of social situations and of having also been extended to young people in the care of child protection.
