Department of Psychiatry, Cambridge Health Alliance, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA, USA.
Department of Psychiatry, Boston Chidren's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA.
J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2022 May;63(5):608-612. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.13535. Epub 2021 Nov 11.
School closures were one of the earlier actions taken as the world tried to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, a decision impacting nearly three-fourths of the learners worldwide. One year into the pandemic, over 200 million students still faced disruptions to their education. Nearing the end of another academic year that has occurred entirely during the pandemic, many schools remained fully or partially closed for in-person education, altering routines and representing potential hardships to the next generation and their families. This article will explore the potential impacts of school closures on children and adolescents related to increased screen time, irregular sleep patterns, less balanced diets, learning difficulties, and changes in social interaction. In addition, we note broader familial difficulties likely accompanying the loss of the mitigating effects of schools and their associated support systems, such as parental stress and work responsibilities, loss of employment, intimate partner violence, child abuse and neglect, and parental substance abuse, which appear to have increased during the pandemic. Considering what is known about the impact from previous natural catastrophes, the populations at risk, and the early but not yet definitive data from the current pandemic, we stress the urgent need for robust data as we prepare for a new academic year in the Northern Hemisphere. Although we currently lack consistent and complete data, signs for concern include a rise in pediatric emergency room visits for mental health and substance use issues in many parts of the world. This paper aims to stimulate a discussion about the potential mental health effects of school closures for children and adolescents in the context of a pandemic.
学校关闭是世界试图控制 COVID-19 疫情时采取的早期措施之一，这一决定影响了全球近四分之三的学习者。疫情爆发一年后，仍有超过 2 亿名学生的教育受到干扰。在又一个完全在疫情期间度过的学年即将结束之际，许多学校仍然完全或部分关闭，无法进行面对面教育，改变了日常作息，这对下一代及其家庭来说可能是潜在的困难。本文将探讨学校关闭对儿童和青少年可能产生的影响，包括增加屏幕时间、不规则的睡眠模式、不均衡的饮食、学习困难以及社交互动的变化。此外，我们还注意到，随着学校及其相关支持系统（如父母压力和工作责任）丧失、失业、亲密伴侣暴力、儿童虐待和忽视以及父母药物滥用等缓解因素的丧失，家庭可能会面临更广泛的困难，这些问题似乎在疫情期间有所增加。考虑到先前自然灾害的影响、风险人群以及当前疫情早期但尚未明确的数据，我们强调在为北半球新学年做准备时，迫切需要强有力的数据。尽管我们目前缺乏一致和完整的数据，但令人担忧的迹象包括，在世界许多地区，因心理健康和药物使用问题而前往儿科急诊室就诊的儿童人数有所增加。本文旨在讨论在大流行背景下学校关闭对儿童和青少年心理健康的潜在影响，以引发相关讨论。
