The psychological effects of COVID-19-related containment in children: the E-COCCON French study

[Management of the Sars-Cov2 pandemic in France - Benefit-risk balance at the collective versus individual level individual scale in children]

According to the precautionary principle and facing the initial uncertainty of the potential seriousness of Covid-19, France has adopted collective measures understood as acceptable despite the deprivation of liberty and the known risks of long confinement on mental health. Such measures should be applied proportionately and cause the least possible harm. Among these, the closure of schools was decided by declination of those appearing in response plans to viral pandemics where children play a major role in the transmission of the disease (e.g. flu). In an unprecedented way, measures and constraints have been taken against the interests of children and to protect a vulnerable group other than the children themselves. From the perspective of children's health, the relationship between health gains from these measures and negative consequences has been unbalanced. The reduction in instruction time has reduced overall academic performance and has had adverse consequences for the socialization and development of children. Confinement has generated more serious domestic accidents, an increase in intra-family violence and marked collateral effects in terms of the mental health of adolescents. Very early on, the various Covid19-related publications showed that children were not the driving force behind this pandemic - If the initial application of collective measures was legitimate, the adaptation of measures at the individual level was out of step with the already known repercussions followed by those observed on the health of the child.

Association between Family Dysfunction and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in School Students during the Second COVID-19 Epidemic Wave in Peru

Although the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and adolescents’ mental health has been studied, there is still scarce evidence of the influence of nuclear family on the development of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This study aimed to determine the association between family dysfunction and PTSD in Peruvian high-school students during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted using a virtual survey administered to 562 high-school students in three schools in Chiclayo, Peru. The dependent variable was PTSD, which was measured with the Child PTSD Symptom Scale. Family dysfunction was the main independent variable, measured with the Family APGAR Questionnaire. Prevalence ratios (PR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were estimated with generalized linear models. Most of the students were female (88.3%) and the average age was 14.4 years. We found that 21.4% showed severe family dysfunction and 60.3% had PTSD. Students with mild and moderate family dysfunction had 37% (PR: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.14–1.65) and 26% (PR: 1.26; 95% CI: 1.04–1.54) higher PTSD prevalence, respectively. In conclusion, family dysfunction may influence the development of PTSD in adolescents. This study suggests the importance to develop a healthy family environment to help adolescents face critical situations experienced during the pandemic.