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Children's Health | Coronavirus and the COVID-19 Vaccine | Staying Resilient | Coronavirus & the MHS Response
Children have had an especially rough time since March 2020.
COVID-19 largely took away their schooling, in-person relationships with friends and fellow students, their teachers, extracurricular activities, and any semblance of a normal life. It gave them worried parents and iffy internet connections for school - and for game playing or other 'fun' uses.
And for the almost 2 million kids of activity-duty families, already saddled with the burden of frequent moves, it gave them more emotional instability.
"There has been more of a demand for mental health services as military kids are coping with the pandemic," said Kelly Blasko, a research psychologist and lead for the mHealth Clinical Integration Connected Health Branch with the Defense Health Agency (DHA). "Depending on the age, military kids are experiencing anxiety, depression and behavioral concerns."
Between March 2020 and June 2020, 27% of parents reported worsening mental health for themselves and 14% reported worsening behavioral health among their children, according to DHA data presented during a "Clinical Communities Speakers Series" on April 22 that addressed the effects of COVID-19 on military families with children. Among the accompanying challenges have been a lack of childcare or supervision, a modified educational structure, a loss of social experiences, a loss of normal services and support, and limitations on recreational activity.
Even at 3 months of age, babies can pick up on their parents' moods and become more irritable and clingier when the adults exhibit stress, anxiety, anger or depression. But the pandemic is affecting kids in a variety of ways.
"We're getting now over a year into this pandemic, and we're starting to talk about how fast do we re-open, but as we continue to prolong, children are at risk of worse mental health outcomes," said Air Force Capt. (Dr.) Matthew Scott, a developmental-behavioral pediatrics fellow at Madigan Army Medical Center, Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington state.
Scott noted during a DHA webinar on April 22 on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on children and youth, and the emotional, behavioral and educational changes that have come with it.
Scott cited pre-COVID-19 studies on isolation and loneliness with children that resulted in depression issues for close to a decade. The effects of this pandemic won't be able to be measured for a good while, but he said there is plenty of anecdotal evidence.
"Reading through newspaper articles, talking to other providers, there's been a very significant increase in mental health problems during the pandemic," Scott said. "Some hospitals have noted almost double the rate ... for suicide attempts, and what we’ve noticed here in our local area is that access to mental health providers has been limited."
Blasko sees a similar trend.
"There has been more of a demand for mental health services in specialty care, primary care and emergency services," she said. "The demand has varied depending on the shelter or quarantine restrictions, which can be more socially isolating."
Additionally, "child care has been very challenging," Scott said. "It's not always certain. Sometimes facilities are closed without notice, or someone tests positive, and there's uncertainty related to that. Children are experiencing loss of social experiences, stress, change. And families are experiencing significant financial stressors, loss of jobs."
Scott noted there has been evidence of 'regression' with many children, from worsening behavior to the loss of milestones - annual events like sports seasons, graduations, proms. For children in early development stages, even the use of masks is having a negative side effect because social cues from the faces of adults and other children are being missed.