Impacts of COVID-19 on early childhood mental health

Abstract

This study investigates the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on young children's mental health and their engagement in mental health services in the midwestern United States. Previous research investigating the impact of COVID-19 on young children's mental health service utilization has rarely included children under 5 years. Therefore, this study examined how the COVID-19 pandemic and the caregiver-child relationship impacted children's mental health symptoms. It also investigated the impact of COVID-19 and the child's symptom presentation on caregivers’ engagement and attendance in mental health treatment. Data were collected with children 0 to 5 years old (n = 486) from January 2017 to April 2022 using archival records from a community mental health organization. Participants were primarily low-income (81.9%) and White (81.3%). Results found that the caregiver-child relationship impacted children's mental health symptoms before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Both caregivers and children were rated as more engaged after the pandemic began if the child experienced externalizing symptoms. Children attended fewer therapy sessions after the pandemic started, and those with externalizing symptoms received more overall services than those without.