The DOI matches its Crossref record; 46 of the 46 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of children and adolescents: A systematic review of survey studies
Open accessAbstract
Objective: Mental health problems among children and adolescents are increasingly observed during the outbreak of COVID-19, leading to significant healthcare concerns. Survey studies provide unique opportunities for research during this pandemic, while there are no existing systematic reviews in this setting. The objective was to summarize existing survey studies addressing the effects of the current COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of children and adolescents. Methods: For this systematic review, we performed an electronic search in multiple databases from December 2019 to December 2020. The quality appraisal of the included studies was performed with the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme Qualitative Checklist. Because of the high methodological heterogeneity between studies, a narrative synthesis of the qualitative data was used. Results: In total, 35 survey studies with 65,508 participants, ranging from 4 to 19 years of age, are included in this review. Anxiety (28%), depression (23%), loneliness (5%), stress (5%), fear (5%), tension (3%), anger (3%), fatigue (3%), confusion (3%), and worry (3%) were the most common mental health issues reported. Children and adolescents with psychiatric and/or developmental disorders, such as severe obesity, chronic lung disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cystic fibrosis, and obsessive-compulsive disorders, were especially vulnerable to the mental health effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Age, gender, psychological quality, and negative coping strategies were identified as risk factors for the development of mental health problems. Social and family support, along with a positive coping style, was associated with better outcomes. Conclusion: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of children and adolescents is multifaceted and substantial. Survey studies regarding child and adolescent mental health amid COVID-19 indicated that anxiety, depression, loneliness, stress, and tension are the most observed symptoms. Positive coping strategies with family and social support may be important to achieving better outcomes. Due to limited available evidence, more well-designed studies in this area are urgently needed.
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“Systematic reviews have estimated the global prevalence of childhood and teenage depression at 23% and anxiety at 28% [2]”
From Psychological Interventions and Those With Elements of Positive Psychology for Child and Youth Mental Health During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Literature Review, Lessons Learned, and Areas for Future Knowledge Dissemination (2024) · cites this paper as [2]
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“Furthermore, the COVID-19 pandemic has exerted a substantial influence on the mental well-being of children and adolescents, with specific subgroups being especially susceptible to the psychological consequences of the pandemic [55].”
From Clinical Efficacy of Psychotherapeutic Interventions for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review and Analysis. (2024) · cites this paper as [55]
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“Several systematic reviews also found that certain child and adolescent populations were at risk for experiencing poorer well-being outcomes, including older adolescents, girls, neurodivergent populations, and/or chronic physical conditions [23], and populations with psychiatric or developmental disorders (e.g., obesity, lung disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive comp”
From Loneliness and Well-Being in Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review (2023) · cites this paper as [25]
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“Methods of increasing children’s and adolescents’ feelings of belonging to a social group and experiencing positive social rewards can include access to physical exercise, social hobbies, and entertainment [25,71].”
From Loneliness and Well-Being in Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review (2023) · cites this paper as [25]
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“…including older adolescents, girls, neurodivergent populations, and/or chronic physical conditions [23], and populations with psychiatric or developmental disorders (e.g., obesity, lung disease, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive compulsive disorder; ages 4 to 19 [25]).”
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“Our findings are in broad agreement with other reviews attempting to synthesise the evidence on this question, which also concluded there had been a deterioration, but with multifaceted effects (Samji et al., 2022; Theberath et al., 2022).”
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“Our findings align with some of the previous research suggesting that age, gender expression and pre-existing conditions can place some students at risk of experiencing poorer mental health and wellbeing [7, 11, 12].”
BackgroundResult
Metadata
- Authors
- Theberath, M., Bauer, D., Chen, W., Salinas, M., Mohabbat, A. B., Yang, J., Chon, T. Y., Bauer, B. A., & Wahner-Roedler, D. L.
- Affiliations
- St. Olaf College (US)
- Century High School, Rochester, MN, USA
- Mayo Clinic (US)
- St. Olaf College, Northfield, MN, USA
- Venue
- SAGE Open Medicine
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2022-01
- Volume
- 10
- Pages
- 20503121221086712-20503121221086712
- ISSN
- 2050-3121 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC8972920
- OpenAlex
- W4225507166
- Cited by
- 244
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 21 · 2025: 35 · 2024: 77 · 2023: 89 · 2022: 21
- FWCI
- 9.28
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- SAGE Open Medicine (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- The HEAD Foundation, Singapore
- 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, child mental health, adolescent mental health, anxiety, depression, loneliness, stress, coping strategies, social support, family support, mental illness, developmental disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, cystic fibrosis, obsessive-compulsive disorder, morbid obesity, chronic lung disease, risk factors
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