COVID-19 pandemic: Impact on children and adolecents

Abstract

The global pandemic caused by Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has led to major lifestyle changes in people living in the affected countries. Namely, most countries declared the state of emergency which included the implementation of different precautionary measures, such as restriction of movement, travel ban, isolation, social distancing and wearing protective equipment. The global fight with the unknown virus generated an abundance of different, often contradictory and inconsistent information. These new changes can have a potentially major impact on the physical and mental health of both children and adults. Children are a particularly vulnerable population in crisis situations. Although research shows that children and young people exhibit clinically significantly milder forms of COVID-19 compared to adults, their vulnerability is reflected in a greater susceptibility to develop serious psychological consequences. Mental problems of children most often develop due to the inability to adequately understand the new situation, fear, separation from peers, changes in the mental state of parents and greater susceptibility to abuse and neglect. Also, systematic changes in the country (closure of educational institutions, reduced workload or closure of health institutions or institutions of support and assistance to children and vulnerable individuals) contribute to the difficulty of overcoming the pandemic. These changes especially affect children with pre-existing mental disorders, neurodevelopmental difficulties, and children from vulnerable and minority groups who require more care and services from different support systems. In order to avoid harmful consequences for the health of children, we will present recommendations focused on children and parents, which are intended for the easier overcoming of crisis situations such as the current pandemic.