My Hero is You: Intervention to Reduce Anxiety and Depression in Children During the Covid-19 Pandemic in Indonesia

Abstract

The current Covid-19 pandemic has been very influential in all aspects of life, and not only adults but also children are victims. The prolonged school closures and social restrictions during this pandemic have had negative impacts on children’s physical and mental health. The World Health Organization recommends storytelling to deal with psychological and mental health issues in children due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Storytelling helps children understand the current situation and gives them confidence that they can get through this difficult time. The purpose of this study was to determine how the storytelling method with the pomodoro technique can affect the psychological status of school-age children during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research was a quantitative study with a quasi-experimental, two groups, pre-test and post-test design. The research was conducted on 6-9 April 2021 at SD Negeri in Bandung, and 40 respondents were recruited using a simple random sampling technique. Data were collected using the CDI and CAQ questionnaires. The results of the study indicated that there was no significant difference in the level of depression (p = 0.277) or anxiety (p = 0.103) between the intervention group and control group. Storytelling with the pomodoro technique did not have a significant effect, even though it can reduce levels of depression and anxiety.
 Keywords: storytelling, Covid-19, anxiety, depression, children