Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Effects of School Closure for Children and Their Families

Abstract

To the Editor Risks for mental health of children and adolescents in the era of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, owing to school closure and quarantine, have been delineated by Golberstein et al. 1 We further extend their implications of school closure for children and their families, an issue that undergoes a deafening silence in the public debate.Mental health of children and adolescents undergoes a sudden stress test during quarantine 1 that causes a complete, sudden, and unprepared loss of direct social relationships with peers, representing a significant human need and stimulus for well-being, socioemotional development, and self-identity in this age range. Direct social relationships are limited to family members, with increased risks of loneliness; especially in the absence of home outdoor spaces, school closure significantly increases the risks for (1) physical health; (2) addiction to video games and binge watching (clearly exceeding daily time limits of screen exposure indicated by pediatric guidelines); and (3) alteration of circadian rhythms. Moreover, compulsory coexistence with family members may increase the risk of direct or assisted verbal or physical domestic violence. Finally, school closure may have profound effect on academic achievement, especially in the youngest children and in children of families with low socioeconomic status. 2,3 If school closure will be confirmed for the remaining months and also summer camps will be impeded, the well-known summer learning gap will be amplified, 4 especially for children of families at low socioeconomic status and for children with preexisting neurodevelopmental or mental health conditions of vulnerability. Families with low socioeconomic status have less available possibilities in terms of suitable places to do homework, electronic devices, internet access, and owned books 2,3 ; parents themselves in the case of low socioeconomic status, exemplified by the immigrant parent-child acculturation gap, 5 may be less able to motivate and help them in this new experience of online schooling. Therefore, educational systems should plan and finance extraordinary ad hoc interventions to reduce long-lasting effects of prolonged school closures, especially for more disadvantaged children, focused but not limited to learning. Moreover, school closure is a serious and impeding problem also for working parents if they are allowed to return to work, considering that other family members who can provide resources, such as grandparents, are probably quarantined themselves. In conclusion, medical, educational, and economic competencies should implement strategic plans for a progressive restart of educational activities that may ensure a calculated trade-off between risk of COVID-19 infection, reduction of learning gap, and restart of working for parents.

Challenges for Child Mental Health Raised by School Closure and Home Confinement During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Long-lasting school closure has potentially serious effects on children’s academic progress [ 20 , 21 ]. For example, a study using a large national U.S. database on students in grades 3 to 8 projected losses in learning gains for reading and mathematics for students returning to school in the fall of 2020 [ 22 •].…”

Substance-related coping behaviours among youth during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…These measures were taken to help curb community spread and transmission of the novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, although the effectiveness of school closures on transmission control remains unclear ( Viner et al, 2020 ). Given that school is normally a source of structure, routine, and social interaction, there has been an expressed concern over the lasting impact that COVID-19-related school closures and physical distancing measures may have on youth health and wellbeing ( Galea et al, 2020 , Poletti and Raballo, 2021 ), especially with respect to the potential of exacerbating existing inequities among youth and their families ( Van Lancker & Parolin, 2020 ).…”

High School Students’ Learning During the COVID Pandemic: Perspectives from Health Sciences and Technology Academy Participants

“…Golberstein et al (2020) purport that mental health problems may increase among children and adolescents due to "the unique combination of the public health crisis, social isolation, and economic recession." In a response to the aforementioned brief, Poletti and Raballo (2021) note that lower socioeconomic families have fewer resources (e.g., internet access, dedicated homework spaces, etc.) so that these students can have difficulty mitigating learning loss.…”