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. 2021 Jun;119(3):170-176.
doi: 10.5546/aap.2021.eng.170.

Psychological impact of COVID-19 lockdown in children and adolescents from San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina: Parents' perspective

[Article in English, Spanish]
Diego Schnaiderman  1 , Mariana Bailac  2 , Laura Borak  2 , Haydeé Comar  2   3 , Ana Eisner  2 , Alejandra Ferrari  2 , Gabriela Giannini  2 , Fernando Risso  2 , Carolina Vetere  2 , Gilda Garibotti  4
Affiliations
Free article

Psychological impact of COVID-19 lockdown in children and adolescents from San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina: Parents' perspective

[Article in English, Spanish]
Diego Schnaiderman et al. Arch Argent Pediatr. 2021 Jun.
Free article

Abstract
in English, Spanish

Introduction: From an infectious perspective, children and adolescents were not highly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, social isolation measures have deeply changed their lifestyle, which is believed to have a psychological impact on them. The objective was to assess the impact of COVID-19 lockdown on the emotional health of children and adolescents attending primary or secondary school.

Population and methods: Parents of children and adolescents from San Carlos de Bariloche participated in the study. Adults' perception of the emotional and behavioral impact of lockdown on children and adolescents, changes in sleeping habits, screen use, sports-related activities, eating, and medical consultations, was assessed.

Results: A total of 267 parents were included. Of them, 96.3 % noticed emotional and behavioral changes. The most common ones were that their children were more bored (76.8 %), more irritable (59.2 %), more reluctant (56.9 %), and angrier (54.7 %). It was observed that they woke up and went to bed later, and slept 30 minutes more. Moreover, leisure screen use increased by 3 hours on weekdays. Time dedicated to physical activities did not change, but the type of activities did: swimming and team sports were replaced by biking, walking, and skiing.

Conclusions: COVID-19 lockdown affected the emotional health and habits of children and adolescents. Boredom, irritability, and reluctance were more present during lockdown. The possibility of doing outdoor physical activities allowed them to keep practicing sports.

Introducción. Los jóvenes no fueron muy afectados desde el punto de vista infeccioso por la pandemia de COVID-19. Sin embargo, las medidas de aislamiento social modificaron de manera profunda su estilo de vida, y se cree que esto los afecta psicológicamente. El objetivo fue evaluar el impacto del aislamiento por COVID-19 en la salud emocional de jóvenes en escolaridad primaria o secundaria. Población y métodos. Participaron del estudio padres de jóvenes de San Carlos de Bariloche. Se evaluó la percepción del adulto sobre el impacto emocional y de comportamiento del aislamiento sobre el joven, cambio de hábitos de sueño, uso de pantallas, actividades deportivas y alimentación y de asistencia a consulta médica. Resultados. Se incluyeron 267 padres. El 96,3 % observó cambios emocionales y de comportamiento. Los más frecuentes fueron que estaban más aburridos (el 76,8 %), irritables (el 59,2 %), desganados (el 56,9 %) y enojados (el 54,7 %). Se observó que se levantaban y acostaban más tarde y dormían 30 minutos más. Además, el uso de pantallas por esparcimiento aumentó 3 horas durante los días hábiles. El tiempo dedicado a la actividad física no varió, pero sí cambió el tipo de actividades: la natación y los deportes de equipo fueron reemplazados por ciclismo, caminatas y esquí. Conclusiones. El aislamiento por COVID-19 impactó sobre la salud emocional y los hábitos de los jóvenes. El aburrimiento, la irritabilidad y el desgano estuvieron más presentes durante el aislamiento. La posibilidad de realizar actividades al aire libre permitió que continuaran practicando deportes.

Keywords: COVID-19; adolescent; child; psychosocial impact; social isolation.

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