The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study on the Emotional-Behavioral Sequelae for Children and Adolescents with Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Their Families

Raffagnato, Alessia; Iannattone, Sara; Tascini, Benedetta; Venchiarutti, Martina; Broggio, Alessia; Zanato, Silvia; Traverso, Annalisa; Mascoli, Cataldo; Manganiello, Alexa; Miscioscia, Marina; Gatta, Michela

doi:10.3390/ijerph18189880

Cited by 20 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 64 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Italian studies [ 14 , 24 ] on children and adolescents with psychiatric disorders found a worsening of psychological distress in patients with externalizing behavioral symptoms, while patients with internalizing disorders showed a better adaptation to the pandemic context. Furthermore, there was a significant positive correlation between internalizing symptoms of children and parental stress.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Adolescents with Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Emotional/Behavioral Symptoms and Parental Stress

Operto

Coppola

Vivenzio

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The objective of our study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the emotional and behavioral symptoms in minors with neuropsychiatric disorders and on parental stress through a standardized neuropsychological assessment, comparing the data collected before the pandemic with those collected during the lock-down. Another goal of our study was to analyze the relationship between parental stress and behavioral/emotional symptoms in children. Our study was conducted on 383 families of patients who had already been referred at the Child Neuropsychiatry Unit of the University Hospital of Salerno for different neuropsychiatric conditions. All the parents completed two neuropsychological standardized questionnaires for the assessment of parental stress (PSI—Parenting Stress Index-Short Form) and the emotional/behavioral problems of their children (Child Behaviour CheckList). The data collected during the pandemic were compared with those collected from questionnaires administered during the six months preceding the pandemic, as is our usual clinical practice. The comparison between the mean scores of PSI and CBCL before and after the pandemic showed a statistically significant increase in all subscales analyzed in the total sample. The correlation analysis showed significant positive relationship between the subscale Total Stress of PSI and the subscales Total Problems and Internalizing Problems of CBCL. Our study suggested that the COVID-19 pandemic and the corresponding measures adopted led to an increase in internalizing and externalizing symptoms in children and adolescents with neuropsychiatric disorder. Similarly, parental stress increased during COVID-19 and ahigher level of stress in parents can be related to the internalizing symptoms of their children.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Adolescents with Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Emotional/Behavioral Symptoms and Parental Stress

Operto

Coppola

Vivenzio

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Our sample was mainly composed of pediatric inpatients hospitalized before the outbreak of the pandemic (i.e., 2015–2019), and the rate of inpatients hospitalized in 2019 is almost equal to that of 2020; therefore, we did not observe an increase in admissions for suicidality from the year immediately before the pandemic to the year of the outbreak of the pandemic. This finding is probably due to the imposed restriction on territorial mental health services and scheduled hospitalizations during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 49 ], but it may also be related to the fact that for some young people the effects of the pandemic on mental health have not been immediately observed; in fact, previous studies on children and adolescents with preexisting neuropsychiatric disorders showed a general good adjustment of young patients to the pandemic situation [ 126 , 127 , 128 ]. However, the long-term negative impact of the pandemic on the psychological well-being of youth could emerge later [ 129 ], so we would expect an increase in suicidality rate in the following years.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Pre-Adolescent and Adolescent Clinical Sample Study about Suicidal Ideation, Suicide Attempt, and Self-Harming

Raffagnato

Iannattone

Fasolato

et al. 2022

EJIHPE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Suicide is the second cause of death among adolescents, and nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) is one of the main risk factors for suicidal behavior. However, the possible variables specifically associated with suicidal ideation and suicide attempt, as well as the psychopathological characteristics linked to the concomitant presence of suicidal ideation/attempt and NSSI are still under-investigated in youth. The current study aimed to address these issues in a sample of 174 young Italian inpatients (Mage = 14.3 years ± 1.93, 78.2% girls). Sociodemographic and clinical variables were assessed through psycho-diagnostic interviews and ad hoc questionnaires. A binomial logistic regression was performed to identify the predictors of suicidal ideation and suicide attempt. Then, Kruskal–Wallis tests were run to analyze the psychopathological differences between patients with suicidal ideation and suicide attempt considering the coexistence of NSSI. The results highlighted that previous access to child mental health services and general psychopathological problems significantly predicted suicidal ideation, while previous hospitalizations, borderline personality functioning, and affective disorders significantly predicted suicide attempt. In general, inpatients with also NSSI reported higher levels of internalizing, somatic and total problems, impulsiveness, alexithymia, and emotional dysregulation. The clinical implications of our findings in terms of primary and secondary preventive programs are discussed.

show abstract

“…It appears that our group of adolescents showed a fairly good adjustment to the pandemic situation, at least in its first phase. It seems safe to reason that a decreased exposure to an in-person school environment might have led to a reduction in several peer stressors and victimization (for those who experienced it), and academic performance triggers [ 72 , 73 ], which would normally cause distress, anxiety, and depression [ 74 ]. The shift to a rather “safe” environment such as the domestic one might not have weighted as much on our sample’s psychological well-being, producing relative stability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Trap of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Italian Adolescents Fare Well at First, Maybe Thanks to Protective Trait Expression

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abundant research indicates that the COVID-19 pandemic has been negatively affecting mental health in adolescence. Few works, however, benefit from data from the same sample before and after the onset of the pandemic. The present longitudinal study involved a non-clinical group of 136 Italian adolescents (Mage = 16.3 years ± 1.08, 67% girls) to investigate their psychological response to the first lockdown and explore the role of a protective trait (i.e., Positivity) in moderating the effect of Intolerance of Uncertainty (IU) on internalizing symptoms before and during the COVID-19 outbreak. Participants completed self-report questionnaires assessing psychopathological symptoms, psychological well-being, IU, and Positivity on three separate occasions: October 2019 (T1), January 2020 (T2), and April 2020 (T3). The results showed that internalizing and externalizing symptoms as well as psychological well-being did not vary significantly over time. Positivity was found to significantly moderate the relationship between IU and internalizing symptoms at T3 (i.e., during the COVID-19 lockdown) only. Overall, our findings suggest that the teenagers’ good adjustment to the initial phase of the pandemic might have been associated with the enhanced weight of the Positivity trait, which may have encouraged a positive attitude towards self, life, and the future.

show abstract

The COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study on the Emotional-Behavioral Sequelae for Children and Adolescents with Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Their Families

Cited by 20 publications

References 64 publications

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Adolescents with Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Emotional/Behavioral Symptoms and Parental Stress

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Adolescents with Neuropsychiatric Disorders: Emotional/Behavioral Symptoms and Parental Stress

A Pre-Adolescent and Adolescent Clinical Sample Study about Suicidal Ideation, Suicide Attempt, and Self-Harming

The Trap of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Italian Adolescents Fare Well at First, Maybe Thanks to Protective Trait Expression

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About