Hidden Superheroes: Children and Adolescents in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The pandemic has left its unmistakable impact on each of our lives and those of our patients. As a post-graduate year 3 (PGY-3) at Rush University Medical Center, the tail-end of my psychiatry residency training and my entire child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship training was forever altered. My (Leora Massey) patients each day tell me about their unique experiences growing up and attending school during a pandemic. Few other topics have impacted people of all ages and backgrounds as significantly as the COVID-19 pandemic. This article will examine some of the literature that illustrated the profound impact that COVID has had on children and adolescents since March 2020, revealing hidden superheroes of this pandemic—the pediatric population. This research is especially pertinent, given the US Surgeon General’s advisory declaring a Youth Mental Health Crisis on December 7, 2021.1 At the start of the pandemic, health care and other essential workers were frequently referenced as the superheroes of our society. I would like to also acknowledge the struggles of children and adolescents – those who might have stayed home but were also tasked with the crucial work of continuing to learn, mature, and develop during months of social isolation. They, in fact, might be considered superheroes as well.