Peer-reviewed article
Interviewing children: the impact of the COVID-19 quarantine on children’s perceived psychological distress and changes in routine
Giulia Segre, Rita Campi, Francesca Scarpellini, Antonio Clavenna, Michele Zanetti et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study interviewed 82 Italian children aged 6–14 years and their parents during COVID-19 lockdown in May–June 2020 to assess psychological distress and changes in daily routines. Most children experienced anxiety (78%) and many reported mood symptoms (43.9%), difficulties sleeping, and changes to eating habits including more junk food. The findings show children struggled significantly with quarantine measures, particularly in adjusting to home learning and maintaining healthy routines.
Key points
- 78% of children reported anxiety symptoms during lockdown
- 43.9% reported significant mood symptoms
- 30% struggled to adjust to home learning
- 28% had sleep difficulties and wanted to sleep in parents' bed
- 44% (36 of 82) changed dietary habits, consuming more junk food and inconsistent amounts
Limitations
This is a small, non-representative sample from one Italian city collected during a specific two-week period, limiting generalisation to other contexts and times. The study captures cross-sectional data only and cannot establish causation or long-term effects.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in governments implementing disease containment measures such as school closures, social distancing, and home quarantine. To date, only a few studies have drawn attention to the psychological impact of lockdown on Italian children's mental health. The present study aimed to investigate the psychological distress (anxiety and mood symptoms) and perceived changes in routine among Italian primary and middle school students during the COVID-19 quarantine. METHODS: This interview study was performed between the 18th of May and 7th of June 2020: it involved a sample of 82 children and adolescents living in Milan (Italy), attending primary and middle school (aged 6 to 14 years), and their parents. RESULTS: Almost 30 % of the subjects reported having struggled to adjust to home learning. 36 responders completely changed their dietary habits during the lockdown: they were not eating the same amount of food and were consuming more junk food. Sleep habits were also affected by the lockdown measures: 28 % of the sample had difficulties sleeping and wished to sleep in their parents' bed. Concerning psychological distress, 64 (78 %) children and adolescents had anxiety symptoms; 43.9 % of the students reported significant mood symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Children are not indifferent to the dramatic impact of the COVID-19 epidemic: our data confirm their difficulties in adapting to the quarantine measures. The effects of stress exposure may not manifest later on during the children's development, and, for this reason, it would be interesting to follow up on these participants to improve our understanding of how long these outcomes may last.