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Cited by 1,771COVID-19 and Mental HealthChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentMaternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum

Impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on mental health of children and adolescents: A narrative review with recommendations

Open access
Singh, Shweta, Roy, Deblina, Sinha, Krittika, Parveen, Sheeba, Sharma, Ginni, Joshi, Gunjan·2020·Psychiatry Research
DOI 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113429PMC PMC7444649
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Abstract

This narrative review summarizes research and advisories about how COVID-19 and lockdown affected the mental health of children and adolescents. It concludes that the pandemic created short- and long-term psychosocial and mental health impacts, especially for vulnerable groups, and calls for evidence-based action plans.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113429

Cites

23 of 23 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

29 of 60 cited sources checked · 5 supported · 0 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

  • Findingcitation

    Parent-completed questionnaires showed that children felt uncertain, fearful, and isolated during the pandemic.

    “Based on the questionnaires completed by the parents, findings reveal that children felt uncertain, fearful and isolated during current times.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Jiao et al., 2020 source

      The Early Investigation section (page not provided) says parents completed the questionnaire and reports fear among the children's behavioral and emotional problems. It also describes children experiencing uncertainty and physical and social isolation, but does not identify those as findings from the parent-completed questionnaires. (LLM, conf=0.85)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Interpretationcitation

    Compared with adults, the pandemic may have increased long-term adverse consequences for children and adolescents.

    “It has been indicated that compared to adults, this pandemic may continue to have increased long term adverse consequences on children and adolescents (Shen et al., 2020).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Shen et al., 2020 source

      The Clinical manifestations section says pediatric COVID-19 symptoms were generally milder than adults’ and that most infected children recovered within 1–2 weeks. The Psychotherapy section mentions possible fear or psychological disorders in older children, but neither section addresses whether the pandemic may have greater long-term adverse consequences for children and adolescents than for adults (searched: long-term adverse consequences and long-term psychological impacts). (LLM, conf=0.76)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Findingcitation

    Some children expressed lower affect because they could not play outdoors, meet friends, or engage in in-person school activities.

    “Some children have expressed lower levels of affect for not being able to play outdoors, not meeting friends and not engaging in the in-person school activities (Lee, 2020; Liu et al., 2020; Zhai and Du, 2020).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim3 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Lee, 2020 source

      The Features section reports that school closures disrupted routines and that some young people with existing mental health needs said their conditions worsened. It does not report children expressing lower affect specifically because they could not play outdoors, meet friends, or take part in in-person school activities. (LLM, conf=0.82)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
    • cites Liu et al., 2020 source

      The Comment section says quarantine might adversely affect children’s mental health and that companionship is important to their wellbeing. It does not report children expressing lower affect or link that response to being unable to play outdoors, meet friends, or attend school in person. (LLM, conf=0.78)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
    • cites Zhai and Du, 2020 source

      The main text discusses fear, discrimination, and isolation among international Chinese students and says these may lead to stress, anxiety, and fear. It does not address children’s affect or link it to being unable to play outdoors, meet friends, or attend in-person school activities; a search for those activities found no matching passage. No page number is available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.78)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Findingcitation

    Home confinement of children and adolescents is associated with uncertainty and anxiety attributable to disruption in education, physical activities, and socialization opportunities.

    “The home confinement of children and adolescents is associated with uncertainty and anxiety which is attributable to disruption in their education, physical activities and opportunities for socialization (Jiao et al., 2020).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Jiao et al., 2020 source

      The ‘Early Investigation’ section describes children experiencing uncertainty, isolation and prolonged absence from school during the epidemic. ‘Psychological distress in Children Exposed to Adverse Events’ says enforced isolation and school closure limit contact with classmates and physical activity, and identifies anxiety as a response to adverse events. Neither passage establishes that disruptions to education, activity and socialization specifically caused the uncertainty and anxiety claimed. (LLM, conf=0.82)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Interpretationcitation

    The constraint of movement imposed on children can have a long-term negative effect on their overall psychological wellbeing.

    “Consequently, the constraint of movement imposed on them can have a long term negative effect on their overall psychological wellbeing (Lee, 2020).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Lee, 2020 source

      The Features section links school closures and social distancing to disrupted routines, isolation, and worsening symptoms in some children. It also says the long-term mental-health effects on children are not well known and calls for further study; it does not establish that restricted movement itself causes long-term harm to children's overall psychological wellbeing. No page number is available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.83)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • May combine two claims. 36
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 18

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Maternal stress during pregnancy is biologically linked to foetal wellbeing, and pregnant mothers under stress are psychologically vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

    “During stress, parents particularly pregnant mothers are in a psychologically vulnerable state to experience anxiety and depression which is biologically linked to the wellbeing of the foetus (Biaggi et al., 2016; Kinsella and Monk, 2009).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim2 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Biaggi et al., 2016 source
    • cites Kinsella and Monk, 2009 source

      The Introduction (page not available) links maternal stress, anxiety, and depression during pregnancy to fetal development, and the Physiological Pathways section discusses possible biological routes for that influence. The paper does not establish that stress makes pregnant women more vulnerable to anxiety or depression, and it does not address parents generally. (LLM, conf=0.84)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingcitation

    Children experienced disturbed sleep, nightmares, poor appetite, agitation, inattention, and separation-related anxiety.

    “It was also shown that children experienced disturbed sleep, nightmares, poor appetite, agitation, inattention and separation related anxiety (Jiao et al., 2020).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Jiao et al., 2020 source

      The Early Investigation section reports inattention, irritability and clinginess among children in the preliminary Shaanxi study. It lists poor sleep and nightmares, poor appetite, agitation and separation problems as conditions the questionnaire investigated, but does not report that children experienced every condition on that list. The Conclusions also advise parents to watch for sleep difficulties and nightmares. (LLM, conf=0.86)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingcitation

    School shutdowns in isolation prevent about 2-4% additional deaths, which is less than other social distancing measures.

    “Current studies related to COVID-19 demonstrate that school shut downs in isolation prevent about 2-4% additional deaths which is quite less if compared to usage of other measures of social distancing.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Lee, 2020 source

      The Features section discusses school closures and their effects on young people’s mental health, but does not estimate deaths prevented. Searches for the 2–4% figure and for a comparison with other social-distancing measures found no supporting passage in our copy; no page number was provided. (LLM, conf=0.76)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingcitation

    In India, with 472 million children, the lockdown significantly impacted 40 million children from poor families, including farm and field workers, migrants' children, and street children.

    “For instance, in India, which has the largest child population in the world with 472 million children, the lockdown has significantly impacted 40 million children from poor families. These include children working on farms, fields in rural areas, children of migrants and street children (Dalton et al., 2020; Rosenthal et al., 2020).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim2 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Dalton et al., 2020 source

      The main text discusses the pandemic’s effects on children generally, but does not address India or children from poor families. Searches for the 472 million and 40 million figures, and for migrant, farm-working, and street children, found no matching passage in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.75)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
    • cites Rosenthal et al., 2020 source

      The main text (page unavailable) discusses COVID-19’s effects on children living in temporary accommodation in the UK. Searches for the India population figures and for farm workers, migrants’ children, and street children found no passage addressing the India-specific claim. (LLM, conf=0.76)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingcitation

    It is difficult for parents to manage children with special needs on their own because they lack professional expertise and mostly relied on schools and therapists.

    “To cater to these challenges, it is difficult for parents to handle the challenged children and adolescents on their own, as they lack professional expertise and they mostly relied on schools and therapists to help them out (Dalton et al., 2020).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Dalton et al., 2020 source

      The main text (page not available) discusses changes to children’s routines and social infrastructure, and how adults can respond to children’s distress. Searches for special needs, parental professional expertise, schools, and therapists found no passage addressing the claimed difficulty of caring for these children without that support. (LLM, conf=0.76)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    Children may develop sadness, anxiety, fear of death, fear of parents' death, and fear of being isolated in hospital, which may have detrimental effects on psychological development.

    “The children may develop feelings of sadness, anxiety, fear of death, fear of parents’ death and fear of being isolated in the hospital which may have a very detrimental effect on their psychological development”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 3 sources checked
    • cites APA, 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites CDC, 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Dalton et al., 2020 source

      In the main text (page not provided), Dalton et al. describe children’s anxiety, upset, and possible sad responses, and warn of long-term psychological effects of the pandemic. The paper does not identify fear of death, fear of a parent’s death, or fear of hospital isolation, nor does it specifically link those fears to impaired psychological development. (LLM, conf=0.86)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    Displacement-related frustration and family conflict may manifest as violence toward children, making the child more vulnerable to depression, anxiety, and suicide.

    “By the reason of displacement, the frustration and family conflict may manifest itself in the form of violence towards children. This can make the child more vulnerable to depression, anxiety and suicide (Jiao et al., 2020; Petito et al., 2020; Solantaus et al., 2020)”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Jiao et al., 2020 source

      The section “Psychological distress in Children Exposed to Adverse Events” reports anxiety and depression as common manifestations of psychological stress in children. It does not link displacement or family conflict to violence toward children, or discuss suicide; searches for those terms found no supporting passage. Page numbers were unavailable in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.84)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
    • cites Petito et al., 2020 source
    • cites Solantaus et al., 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    With closure of special schools and day care centres, children with special needs lack access to resource material, peer group interactions, and opportunities to learn and develop social and behavioural skills, which may lead to regression and symptom relapse.

    “With the closure of special schools and day care centres these children lack access to resource material, peer group interactions and opportunities of learning and developing important social and behavioural skills in due time may lead to regression to the past behavior as they lose anchor in life, as a result of this their symptoms could relapse (Lee, 2020).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Lee, 2020 source

      Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    Separation from primary caregivers can make a child more vulnerable and threaten a child's mental health.

    “It is found that separation from the primary caregivers can make a child more vulnerable and can pose a threat to a child's mental health (Cooper, 2020; Jiao et al., 2020; Liu et al., 2020).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim2 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Cooper, 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Jiao et al., 2020 source

      The Early Investigation section lists “separation problems” among the psychological conditions investigated, and the resilience section says family support can help children recover from distress. Neither section says that separation from primary caregivers makes children more vulnerable or threatens their mental health; that specific link is not established in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.82)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
    • cites Liu et al., 2020 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Panic buying in times of distress indicates an instinctual survival behaviour.

    “It has been reported that panic buying in times of distress indicate an instinctual survival behaviour (Arafat et al., 2020).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Arafat et al., 2020 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingcitation

    Before the pandemic, children with special needs had difficulties attending special schools but had learned to develop a daily schedule.

    “Although prior to the pandemic, these children had been facing difficulties even while attending special schools, but in due course they had learnt to develop a schedule to adhere to for most of the time of the day”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 3 sources checked
    • cites APA, 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites Cortese et al., 2020 source

      The paper’s main text discusses difficulties for students with ADHD during the COVID-19 crisis and mentions disruption of daily routines. It does not address whether children had difficulty attending special schools before the pandemic or had learned to follow a daily schedule. Searches for special schools and pre-pandemic schedules found no passage supporting those points. (LLM, conf=0.74)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
    • cites UNICEF, 2020a

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    Children have emotionally pent-up distress that may turn inward as emotional fear or outward as acting-out behaviour.

    “Children have emotionally pent up feelings of distress which may turn inwards into emotional fear or outwards towards acting out behavior (Liu et al., 2020).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Liu et al., 2020 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingnone given

    Children with special needs have intolerance for uncertainty, and their symptoms are aggravated by enforced restrictions and an unfriendly environment that does not correspond to their regular routine.

    “They have intolerance for uncertainty and there is an aggravation in the symptoms due to the enforced restrictions and unfriendly environment which does not correspond with their regular routine.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Findingnone given

    Incidents of infection in minors have been reported worldwide, resulting in children being quarantined.

    “Yet the incidents of infection in the minors have been reported worldwide, which result in children being quarantined.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingcitation

    In underprivileged families, girls have decreased access to gadgets compared with boys, which may diminish their involvement in digital education platforms.

    “A study pointed out that in underprivileged families, in comparison to boys, girls have decreased access to gadgets, this may diminish their involvement in digital platforms of education (McQuillan and Neill, 2009).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites McQuillan and Neill, 2009 source

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingnone given

    Many schools offered distance learning or online courses to cover education loss during lockdown.

    “In order to cover up the loss of education during lockdown, many schools have offered distance learning or online courses to students.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingnone given

    Children with autism find it very difficult to adapt to the changing environment; they become agitated when things are rearranged and may show increased behavioural problems and self-harm.

    “The children with autism find it very difficult to adapt to the changing environment. They become agitated and exasperated when anything is rearranged or shifted from its existing setup. They might show an increase in their behavioral problems and acts of self-harm.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingnone given

    During lockdown, many poor families have no daily wages, leading to frustration and helplessness.

    “During the time of lockdown an increasing number of poor families have no source of daily wages which lead to frustration and feelings of helplessness.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingcitation

    Among youth, social distancing is viewed primarily as a social responsibility and is followed more sincerely when motivated by prosocial reasons to prevent others from getting sick.

    “It is also found that among youth social distancing is viewed primarily as a social responsibility and it is followed more sincerely if motivated by prosocial reasons to prevent others from getting sick (Oosterhoff et al., 2020a).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Oosterhoff et al., 2020a

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingreasoning

    These conditions trigger outbursts of temper tantrums and conflict between parents and adolescents.

    “These conditions also trigger outburst of temper tantrums, and conflict between parents and adolescents.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingnone given

    Children with special needs face difficulties following instructions, understanding the complexity of the pandemic, and doing their own work independently.

    “Also, they face difficulties in following instructions, understanding the complexity of the pandemic situation and doing their own work independently.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingreasoning

    In developing countries, lockdown has caused underprivileged children to face acute deprivation of nutrition and overall protection.

    “In developing countries, with the imposed lockdown, the underprivileged children face acute deprivation of nutrition and overall protection.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingreasoning

    Children have become more clingy, attention-seeking, and dependent on parents due to long-term shifts in routine.

    “These children have become more clingy, attention seeking and more dependent on their parents due to the long term shift in their routine.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingnone given

    Young children display increased clinginess, sleep disturbance, nightmares, appetite loss, inattention, and marked separation difficulties.

    “Studies show that young children show more clinginess, disturbed sleep, nightmares, poor appetite, inattentiveness, and significant separation problems.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    The nature and extent of impact on children and adolescents depends on vulnerability factors such as developmental age, current educational status, special needs, pre-existing mental health condition, economic underprivilege, and quarantine of the child or parent due to infection or fear of infection.

    “The nature and extent of impact on this age group depend on many vulnerability factors such as the developmental age, current educational status, having special needs, pre-existing mental health condition, being economically under privileged and child/ parent being quarantined due to infection or fear of infection.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    The severity and quality of impact on minors depends on vulnerability factors including developmental age, educational status, pre-existing mental health condition, economic disadvantage, and quarantine due to infection or fear of infection.

    “The quality and magnitude of impact on minors is determined by many vulnerability factors like developmental age, educational status, pre-existing mental health condition, being economically underprivileged or being quarantined due to infection or fear of infection.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Findings from the reviewed studies can be generalized to children and adolescents across different countries and settings.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    During formative years, the parental role is crucial; disruption through isolation from parents can have long-term effects on the child's perceived attachment.

    “As during the formative years of life, the role of parents is very crucial, any disruption in the form of isolation from parents can have long term effects of perceived attachment of the child.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Children with OCD are suspected to be among the most affected by the pandemic; due to contamination, hoarding, and somatic preoccupation obsessions and compulsions, they are expected to experience heightened distress.

    “Children with OCD are suspected to be one of the most affected ones by this pandemic. Due to obsessions and compulsions related to contamination, hoarding, and somatic preoccupation, they are expected to experience heightened distress.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    Increasing numbers of poor and street children have no source of income, making them a high-risk population for abuse and mental health issues with greater vulnerability and exposure to unfavourable economic, social, and environmental circumstances.

    “An increasing number of poor and street children now have no source of income, making them a high risk population to face abuse and mental health issues with greater vulnerability and exposure to unfavorable economic, social and environmental circumstances (Birla, 2019).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Birla, 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    About 1 in 6 children aged 2-8 years have some neurodevelopmental, behavioural, or emotional difficulty.

    “There are about 1 in every 6 children within the age group of 2-8 years who have some or the other neurodevelopmental, behavioural or emotional difficulty (CDC, 2019).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites CDC, 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    COVID-19 infection is expressed differently in children and adolescents.

    “COVID-19 infection is expressed differently in children and adolescents.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    Prolonged confinement at home increases children's internet and social media use, predisposing them to compulsive internet use, access to objectionable content, and greater vulnerability to bullying or abuse.

    “Further, due to prolonged confinement at home children's increased use of internet and social media predisposes them to use internet compulsively, access objectionable content and also increases their vulnerability for getting bullied or abused (Cooper, 2020; UNICEF, 2020b).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Cooper, 2020

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

    • cites UNICEF, 2020b

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Underprivileged children do not have access to distance or online learning opportunities, resulting in lack of stimulation and no access to online resource material.

    “However, this opportunity is not available to underprivileged children as a result of which they face a lack of stimulation and have no access to online resource material to study.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    The pandemic and lockdown caused a global economic downturn that directly worsened pre-existing social inequality.

    “The pandemic and lockdown world has experienced global economic turn-down which has directly worsened the pre-existing social inequality.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    Long absence of a structured school setting results in disrupted routine, boredom, and lack of innovative ideas for academic and extracurricular engagement.

    “Absence of structured setting of the school for a long duration result in disruption in routine, boredom and lack of innovative ideas for engaging in various academic and extracurricular activities.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    OCD among children and adolescents is estimated at 0.25%-4%.

    “Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) among the children and adolescents is estimated to be of 0.25%–4% among children and adolescents (CDC, 2019).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites CDC, 2019

      Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductreasoning

    Relevant studies may have been missed because of strict selection criteria, a short data collection period, and reliance on electronic databases alone.

    “Due to strict selection criteria and the short period of data collection and the only use of electronic databases for our research, there is a possibility of missing studies relevant to the care of children and adolescents.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    Economically underprivileged children are particularly vulnerable to exploitation and abuse.

    “Economically underprivileged children are particularly prone to exploitation and abuse.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    Children are prone to risk for trauma and heightened anxiety.

    “The children prone to risk for trauma and heightened anxiety.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductreasoning

    As a narrative review, the authors did not compute effect sizes or perform risk of bias assessment for included papers.

    “Being a narrative review, we did not attempt computation of effect sizes or do a risk of bias assessment for included papers.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Pediatricians have a paramount role in promoting mental health, building resilience, recognizing mental health problems, and coordinating with mental health care providers for children.

    “Hence a pediatrician's role is paramount in promoting mental health, developing resilience, recognizing mental health problems, and coordinate with the mental health care providers when it comes to mental health care of children.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductnone given

    Management strategies reported in the included studies were confined to geopolitical conditions.

    “The strategies reported in the studies were isolated to geopolitical conditions.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Teachers are in regular contact with students during online academic activities and can play a critical role in promoting psychological well-being.

    “In the present times when most schools and colleges are organizing online academic activities, teachers are in regular touch with students, and therefore are in a position to play a critical role in the promotion of psychological well being among youngsters.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductnone given

    The literature searches were performed by five independent reviewers.

    “The searches were done by five independent reviewers.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductnone given

    Three independent authors participated in study selection, and all authors reached consensus on the studies included.

    “Three independent authors participated in study selection and all authors reached a consensus on the studies to be included.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductnone given

    The review could not track management measures aimed at children.

    “In our review, we were unable to track the measures of management targeted towards the children.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Children and adolescents with pre-existing mental health conditions are unaccustomed to environmental variation, so their symptoms and behavioral problems may worsen.

    “Children and adolescents with mental health conditions are not used to variation in the environment. Hence there could be an exacerbation in symptoms and behavioral problems.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
47 of 47

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The articles and advisories collected for this review are sufficient to support its conclusions about children and adolescents during COVID-19.

    “We conducted a review and collected articles and advisories on mental health aspects of children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Findings from the reviewed studies can be generalized to children and adolescents across different countries and settings.

    “The following sections discuss about findings of studies on mental-health aspects of children and adolescents impacted by COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns being implemented at national or regional levels to prevent further spread of infection.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The pandemic and lockdown measures, rather than other concurrent factors, are a major cause of the mental health impacts described.

    “COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown has brought about a sense of fear and anxiety around the globe.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Digital and online mental health support can effectively reach and benefit children and adolescents during the pandemic.

    “For this innovative child and adolescent mental health policies policies with direct and digital collaborative networks of psychiatrists, psychologists, paediatricians, and community volunteers are deemed necessary.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Quarantine measures benefit the community at large.

    “Although quarantining measures are for the benefit of the community at large, its psychological effects cannot be ignored (Liu et al., 2020).”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Younger children require more parental attention than adolescents and need physical presence and indoor play with parents.

    “Compared to adolescents, younger children demand more attention of their parents They need their parents’ physical presence and need to engage in more indoor play related activities with them.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Internet surfing related to COVID-19 causes anxiety.

    “Excessive internet use e.g. internet surfing related to COVID-19 should be avoided as it results in anxiety.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Adolescents are enthusiastic and prone to risk-taking, so some may feel invincible and disregard distancing and hygiene rules.

    “Adolescence is a phase of enthusiasm and risk-taking, hence some may feel invincible and try not to follow guidelines related to distancing and personal hygiene.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    For children, parents serve as the strongest role models, and home is the primary setting for acquiring life skills.

    “Parents are the best ‘role model’ for children and home is practically the best place to learn the ‘life skills’.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    There is a shortage of mental health care workers in most developing countries.

    “Since there is a dearth of mental health care workers in most developing countries.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Traditional pre-COVID-19 models and policies for child and adolescent mental health are no longer applicable during the COVID-19 era.

    “It has been recognized by the world that the traditional pre-COVID-19 models and policies for children and adolescents' mental health are no longer applicable during COVID 19 era.”
11 of 11

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Most included studies comprised online group sessions where direct personal interaction was enabled to provide group experiences and social learning that were hindered by contact restrictions.

    “In general, most of the included studies comprised online group sessions where direct personal interaction was enabled to provide group experiences and social learning that were hindered by contact restrictions [1, 2].”

    From Interventions to build resilience and to ameliorate negative psychosocial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2024) · cites this paper as [1]

    The ‘Impact on school and college going students’ section (page unavailable) says lockdown disrupted children’s opportunities for socialization and in-person interaction. The ‘Role of school teachers/school counselors’ section recommends interactive online sessions. Neither section says that most included studies used online group sessions or that those sessions provided group experiences and social learning. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Greater academic pressure, decreased social interaction and physical activity caused by lockdown, and the perceived uncertainties of the COVID-19 have all increased the possibility of anxiety and depression among undergraduate nursing students.

    “Greater academic pressure, decreased social interaction and physical activity caused by lockdown, and the perceived uncertainties of the COVID-19 have all increased the possibility of anxiety and depression among undergraduate nursing students (48, 49).”

    From Mindfulness-based online intervention on mental health among undergraduate nursing students during coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic in Beijing, China: A randomized controlled trial (2022) · cites this paper as [48]

    In “Impact on school and college going students” (page unavailable), the review links disrupted education, physical activity and socialization with uncertainty and anxiety in children and adolescents; it also reports anxiety about cancelled examinations among older adolescents and youth. It does not establish that these factors increased both anxiety and depression among undergraduate nursing students, or specifically identify greater academic pressure as a cause. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The psychosocial health of children and adolescents has been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

    “The psychosocial health of children and adolescents has been particularly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

    From Interventions to build resilience and to ameliorate negative psychosocial effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta-analysis (2024) · cites this paper as [1]

  • Social distancing measures and associated disruption of everyday activities and social contacts threatened the mental health of adolescents during the Covid-19 pandemic.

    “During the Covid-19 pandemic, especially during the lockdown, social distancing measures and the associated disruption of everyday activities and social contacts threatened the mental health of adolescents (6, 68).”

    From Digital Media Use and Adolescents' Mental Health During the Covid-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis (2022) · cites this paper as [68]

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Eligibility criteria conflict with inclusion of advisories

    Minor

    The paper says it included only peer-reviewed journal articles, but it also says it included advisories from organizations and a government ministry. Those advisories do not meet the stated article-only criterion.

  • The authorship statements give conflicting accounts of contributions

    Minor

    The declaration says every author contributed to drafting and critical revision, while the individual contribution statement assigns neither activity to Sheeba Parveen.

  • The stated search limitation omits a manual search

    Minor

    The limitations section says the research used only electronic databases, but the methods also report a manual search of article references.

3 of 3

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

5 of the 28 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 8

  1. Birla, 2019, Mental health may hurt India to tune of $1.03 trillion; here's a dose for cos, Econ. TImes, India Times
  2. 2019, Data and statistics on children's mental health | CDC, Centers Dis. Control Prevent.
  3. Mukherjee, Bailay, 2020, Impact of coronavirus on consumer products: Consumer goods fly off the shelves as coronavirus spreads in India—the economic times [News release], Econ. Times.
  4. Oosterhoff, 2020, Adolescents’ motivations to engage in social distancing during the covid-19 pandemic: associations with mental and social health, J. Adolesc. Health. PMC, 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.05.004 · DOI · Paper page
  5. 2020, Govt helpline receives 92,000 calls on abuse and violence in 11 days read more at: economic times, India Times
  6. 2019, Global population of children 2100, Statista.
  7. 2020, Policy brief: the impact of COVID-19 on children, United Nations, 1
  8. Viner, 2020, School closure and management practices during coronavirus outbreaks including COVID-19: a rapid systematic review, Lancet Child Adolesc. Health, 4, 397, 10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30095-X · DOI · Paper page

Cited by

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Related

Authors
Singh, S., Roy, D., Sinha, K., Parveen, S., Sharma, G., & Joshi, G.
Affiliations
King George's Medical University (IN)
Corresponding author
Roy, Deblina
ORCID
Venue
Psychiatry Research
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2020-11
Volume
293
Pages
113429
ISSN
0165-1781 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113429
PMC
PMC7444649
OpenAlex
W3081076087
Semantic Scholar
c8e4a5b89bc2fbf62e5cebcff9fb6ec0e9fc80a7
Cited by
1,727
References
28
Citations by year
2026: 46 · 2025: 120 · 2024: 234 · 2023: 377 · 2022: 515 · 2021: 406 · 2020: 28 · 2018: 1
FWCI
26.21
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Psychiatry Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › COVID-19 and Mental Health
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Maternal Mental Health During Pregnancy and Postpartum
Keywords
COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown, child mental health, adolescent mental health, quarantine, parental separation, economic hardship, school students, pre-existing mental health conditions, coping strategies, mental health support services
MeSH terms
Betacoronavirus, COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Adaptation, Psychological, Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Mental Disorders, Child, Child Behavior, Child, Preschool, Humans, Male, Mental Health, Mental Health Services, Parents, Pneumonia, Viral, Psychiatry, Quarantine, Risk Factors, Coronavirus Infections, Pandemics

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Claims read under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-09-28.

Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-09-28.

Cited sources are checked by gpt-6-sol.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

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