In the largest meta-analysis of depression and anxiety in children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, researchers found evidence of an increase in depression, particularly in girls and those in mid- to high-income families.
The study, published online in JAMA Pediatrics, analyzed more than 50 studies involving more than 40,800 young people ages 10 to 19 from 12 countries. The researchers at the University of Calgary and Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute, along with other researchers studied the level of anxiety and depression measured across the studies done before to the pandemic and during the pandemic.
The study ultimately found an increase in mental illness and depression amongst youth.
“Widespread uncertainty, at times severe restrictions, and repeated disruptions during the pandemic might have pushed some youth, especially female individuals and adolescents, beyond their typical stress threshold,” according to researchers.
So what does this mean for Detroit area youth?
Children’s Hospital of Michigan staff psychologist, Jocelyn McCrae, PhD, says given her experience of what concerns she was seeing in her patients at the height of the pandemic, she isn’t surprised by the study.
“The research corroborates what many of us clinicians have been seeing in our practices,” she said. “I integrate with the physicians and nurse practitioners when the kids come to the hospital for well-child visits and I do a screening so I am there to hear and they tell me what their concerns are and what their stressors are.”
She explains the stories and concerns she would recount such as an uptick in depression, anxiety symptoms, substance abuse, etc.
The research looked at the studies’ evaluation of anxiety and depression, applying their different measurement tools to a single, measurable scale. With 0.0 indicating no change/bottom of the scale in the difference in anxiety and depression before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re talking about a developing being, including their brain development, their social development which affects their ability to handle unpleasant stressors and changes.”
She points to this being one of the reasons why a child may have a harder time dealing with these changes than an adult.
“When you look at the type of factor for school-aged children, school is the centerpiece in terms of their daily way of life. When you are in school [you’re with] the people who are central to your activities such as your teachers and peers; the pandemic altered the way most children were accustomed to learning.”
McCrae said many children didn’t adapt well to the sudden disruption leading to mental challenges and depression as outlined in the study. This finding is a result of some students not adapting well to virtual learning.
The study found depression in girls; the researchers pointed out that girls typically experience depression and anxiety at twice the rate of boys. They suggest that differences during the COVID-19 pandemic may be due to girls’ “greater propensity to ruminate, higher reported rates of loneliness and increased exposure to adversity and violence, as well as social media use among female young people compared to their male counterparts.”
McCrae said it’s important to take into consideration how the pandemic impacted youth in urban communities as well.
“In the inner city areas, resources are already sparse for social stimulation and healthy peer interaction. Those kids are at a disadvantage[due to a lack of] recreational programs and so forth”
“With the pandemic, what little that was available was cut. I believe that put them [urban youth] at greater risk compared to someone else who may start out with more resources than someone who is less well off financially.”
The researchers said higher rates of depression in children in mid- to higher-income homes could be related to “greater accessibility to digital devices…and their known association with depression.”
They suggested that mid- to higher-income children and adolescents also may have experienced more disturbances to their routine, such as cancellation of regularly scheduled extracurricular activities, like sports and the arts.
As the researchers point out, mental illness in children is associated with poorer academic performance, quality of life, interpersonal functioning, employment and physical health, as well as more mental health problems later in life.
McCrae believes that as studies and data like this are conducted, it provides an opportunity for medical experts to learn more while finding solutions.
“Bringing mental health resources and integrating them into areas where populated” is one of the solutions she points towards.
She also believes integrated health care programs should be embedded into school settings which would allow for services of mental health screening, mental health educational opportunities in the classroom and in churches that would help stop the stigma of youth dealing with mental health challenges and allow for more openness in addressing mental health.
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