Peer-reviewed article

Psychological problems in tunisian children during the covid-19 pandemic

Guermazi A, Guermazi F, Zouari A, Hentati S, Baati I et al. · 1 Sept 2022

Abstract

Introduction The Covid-19 outbreak and the subsequent lockdown have profoundly impacted families’ daily life. Children may be among the most exposed to the psychosocial consequences of the pandemic. Objectives To assess the psychological well-being of children during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods This was a descriptive study shared on social media during the period from 8 to 20 April 2021, targeting mothers of children aged 2 to 18 years. The first part included socio-demographic data of mothers and children. Then, to assess the behavior and coping skills of children and adolescents, we administered the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Results Our study included 65 middle-aged moms = 35.28 years. Among mothers, 1.5% reported having at least one child with a psychiatric, medical or genetic illness. The average age of the children was 8.54 years, the sex ratio was 1.03 and they were in primary school in 52.3%. Moms had talked to their child about COVID in 93.8%, using scientific data in 69.4% of cases. The total average SDQ score was 10.82; and overall mental health was at risk in 15.4% of the children. They had risky emotional symptoms in 9.2%, risky aggressive behaviors in 12.3%, risky hyperactivity-inattention symptoms in 16.9%, relationship behaviors with at-risk pairs in 24.6%, and risky prosocial behavior in 9.2% of cases. Conclusions Researchers and government officials should be more concerned about the mental health of children who are often neglected as a result of the pandemic due to their comparatively lower mortality than older adults. Disclosure No significant relationships.