Department of Psychology, Hunan Agricultural University, Changsha 410128, China.
Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Mar 12;19(6):3350. doi: 10.3390/ijerph19063350.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought a new threat to child health and safety. Some studies suggest that social isolation and economic stress have exacerbated child abuse and neglect, whereas other studies argue that orders to stay at home are likely to promote parent-child relationships during this stressful time. Due to a lack of prospective studies including before-during-after lockdown assessments, the impacts of lockdown measures on child maltreatment are unclear.
This study retrospectively investigated child maltreatment of 2821 Chinese children and adolescents from 12 to 18 (female, 59%) before, during and after lockdown, and identified risk factors. Potential predictors including socio-economic and individual mental health status were collected.
During Chinese lockdown, children and adolescents reported that the proportions of decrease (range 18-47.5%) in emotional abuse and neglect, physical abuse and neglect, sexual abuse, and witnessing domestic violence were greater than that of increase (range 5.1-9.1%). Compared with before lockdown (1.6%), the prevalence of sexual abuse significantly increased 8 months (2.9%) after the lifting of lockdown ( = 0.002). Being male, suffering from depression, state anhedonia, and experiencing psychotic symptoms at baseline were associated with increased sexual abuse after lockdown.
The impact of lockdown on child maltreatment was beneficial in the short-term but detrimental in the long-term in China.
COVID-19 大流行给儿童健康和安全带来了新的威胁。一些研究表明，社会隔离和经济压力加剧了儿童虐待和忽视，而其他研究则认为，在这个紧张时期，居家令可能会促进亲子关系。由于缺乏包括封锁前后评估的前瞻性研究，封锁措施对儿童虐待的影响尚不清楚。
本研究回顾性调查了 2821 名 12 至 18 岁的中国儿童和青少年（女性占 59%）在封锁前后的儿童虐待情况，并确定了风险因素。收集了包括社会经济和个人心理健康状况在内的潜在预测因素。
在中国封锁期间，儿童和青少年报告称，情感虐待和忽视、身体虐待和忽视、性虐待以及目睹家庭暴力的比例下降（范围为 18-47.5%）大于增加（范围为 5.1-9.1%）。与封锁前（1.6%）相比，封锁解除 8 个月后（2.9%）性虐待的患病率显著增加（ = 0.002）。与封锁前相比，基线时为男性、患有抑郁症、状态快感缺失和出现精神病症状与封锁后性虐待的增加有关。
在中国，封锁对儿童虐待的影响在短期内是有益的，但从长期来看是有害的。
