Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has enkindled many mental health problems across the globe. Prominent among them is the prevalence of post-traumatic stress (PTS) with hosts of its precipitating factors being present in the surrounding. With India witnessing severe impact of the second wave of COVID-19, marked by a large number of hospitalizations, deaths, unemployment, imposition of lockdowns, etc., its repercussions on children and adolescents demand particular attention. This study aims to examine the direct and the indirect exposure of COVID-19-related experiences on children and adolescents and its subsequent relationship with PTS and post-traumatic growth (PTG). The direct exposure was operationalized in terms of death or hospitalization in the family, while the indirect exposure was gauged in terms of exposure to media reports of the COVID situation. Data from 412 children and adolescents aged 9–20 years, collected online, revealed 68.9% of them with PTS. Interestingly, 39.8% of those reporting PTS were also experiencing PTG. Arousal appeared to be the most frequently reported characteristics of trauma. The multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) endorses significant difference between those with direct and indirect exposures to hospitalization. Those with direct exposure to hospitalization reported higher PTS. The indirect exposure of COVID-19-related news through electronic media was also significantly associated with higher PTS. Exposure through print media did not lead to significant difference in PTS, but those reading only magazines reported significantly higher PTG than not reading magazines. The findings are analyzed in the light of unfolding of events during the second wave of COVID-19 in India.
Highlights
What began as common flu-type symptoms in December 2019 soon overtook the world, spreading at an exponential rate
We explored the coexistence of post-traumatic stress (PTS) and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in children and adolescents who reported PTS during the second wave of COVID
Keeping 17 as the cutoff for the subscales and 30 as the cutoff for the entire scale, we found 284 out of the 412 participants to be affected by PTS, leading to a prevalence rate of 68.9%
Summary
What began as common flu-type symptoms in December 2019 soon overtook the world, spreading at an exponential rate. To control the rapid escalation of COVID19, nations across the world tried to adopt various measures, including lockdown, which lasted from several weeks to several months India adopted this strategy to control the spread of the virus, announcing a nationwide lockdown on 24 March 2020 that was further extended till 3 May 2020 (Ministry of Home Affairs, 2020), impacting the daily lives of people drastically. Despite such efforts, the scenario became worse with the second wave of COVID that hit the country in March 2021.
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