Depression and Anxiety Among Children and Adolescents During the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Context: During the outbreak of COVID-19, mental health problems were increasingly observed in children and adolescents, leading to negative physical and psychological consequences. This pandemic provided a unique opportunity for conducting survey studies on this topic. As there is no comprehensive research in this area, our aim was to provide a concise overview of previous studies on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental well-being of young people. Methods: We performed an electronic search in multiple databases for this systematic review. The quality of the studies was assessed on the basis of a 14-item quality assessment tool proposed by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institutes (NHLBI) for observational cohort and cross-sectional studies. The time span encompassed December 2019 to December 2021, and the databases included PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. The search was based on the keywords: COVID-19, depression, anxiety, children, and adolescents. Based on our inclusion criteria, out of the 4516 articles reviewed, only eight papers were included in the final review, and their results were summarized and reported. Results: The negative mental health consequences of children during the coronavirus outbreak included increased anxiety and depression, increased behavioral and emotional problems, experiencing misbehaviors and emotional bullying, and increased anxiety and stress following harm, especially in girls. Conclusions: Considering the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children's mental health, it seems necessary to conduct interventional studies to improve and reduce stress and anxiety in children and adolescents during future disease outbreaks.