University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia.
Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Fattouma Bourguiba University Hospital, Monastir, Tunisia.
BMC Public Health. 2023 Nov 17;23(1):2280. doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-17206-1.
The rapidly emerging Coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) has spread around the world yielding in significant changes in almost every aspect of daily life. While primary research of the epidemic COVID-19 has focused on the psychological impact on the general population and health professionals, no survey of the pandemic-resulting containment on parents and their children has been yet addressed in the Tunisian-North African population. This study aimed to assess the psychological profile of parents and youth in Tunisia during a period of COVID 19 lockdown, and to identify associated factors to parental anxiety symptoms.
This is an analytical cross-sectional study composed of a total of 538 adults including 464 mothers and 74 fathers. Parents of children aged less than 18 years completed an online survey (Google Forms) on the Psychological Impact of Confinement which includes the Generalized Anxiety Scale (GAD-7), the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA), and the infantile trait-anxiety scale. The survey was initiated in May 2020 on a population of the Tunisian-North African citizens and lasted for more than 6 weeks.
The median GAD-7 score was 11 corresponding to a moderate anxiety with 27.8% reporting severe anxiety. The median PBA score was 31 corresponding to a moderate risk of burnout, with 19.5% being affected. The children's anxiety scores were associated with their parents' anxiety ratings with 24% of the children reported signs of moderate anxiety.
The COVID-19 pandemic affected parental and their children' psychological behavior due to a direct social isolation and distancing. Pediatricians need to be alerted on this issue and future measures are essential to avoid parental emotional burnout and anxiety disorder in similar situations.
迅速出现的 2019 年冠状病毒病（COVID-19）已在全球范围内传播，导致日常生活的几乎各个方面都发生了重大变化。虽然对 COVID-19 大流行的初步研究主要集中在对普通人群和卫生专业人员的心理影响上，但在突尼斯-北非人群中，尚未对大流行导致的父母及其子女的隔离进行调查。本研究旨在评估突尼斯父母和青少年在 COVID-19 封锁期间的心理状况，并确定与父母焦虑症状相关的因素。
这是一项分析性横断面研究，共纳入 538 名成年人，其中包括 464 名母亲和 74 名父亲。年龄小于 18 岁的儿童的父母通过在线调查（Google 表格）完成了《禁闭的心理影响》，其中包括广泛性焦虑量表（GAD-7），父母倦怠评估（PBA）和婴儿特质焦虑量表。该调查于 2020 年 5 月在突尼斯-北非公民中发起，持续了 6 周以上。
GAD-7 评分中位数为 11，对应中度焦虑，27.8％报告严重焦虑。PBA 评分中位数为 31，对应中度倦怠风险，19.5％受影响。儿童的焦虑评分与父母的焦虑评分相关，有 24％的儿童报告有中度焦虑迹象。
COVID-19 大流行由于直接的社会隔离和疏远，影响了父母及其子女的心理行为。儿科医生需要对此问题保持警惕，并且在类似情况下需要采取未来措施来避免父母的情绪倦怠和焦虑症。
