Follow-up study of children and adolescents during the stay-at-home directive decreed during the COVID-19 pandemic: how the way lockdown is interpreted affects mental health

Abstract

The present study is, to the best of our knowledge, the first study to follow up on the mental health of children and adolescents in Spain during COVID-19, a country in which a strict stay-at-home directive was issued as a result of the pandemic. We also explore the influence of fear of contagion and the attribution for lockdown on young people’s mental health. A sample of 278 children (8 to 12 years) and adolescents (13 to 18 years) were assessed at two time points in relation to different areas linked to well-being, fear of contagion and interpretation of the stringent lockdown as (i) a Punishment, (ii) a means of Slowing the Spread of the Virus, or (iii) a way of Protecting Others. The first time point (T1) was from March 22–25, 2020 (eight to eleven days into lockdown), and the second (T2) was from April 11–14, 2020 (28 to 31 days into lockdown). The results indicate that, following the initial impact of the lockdown, the deterioration observed in the mental health of children and adolescents seemed to stabilize, despite the prolonged nature of the strict stay-at-home directive. A more negative interpretation of the lockdown and greater fear of contagion by the COVID-19 virus resulted in poorer mental health. The present study may help inform the decision-making process regarding stringent lockdown orders for children and adolescents in future pandemics and establish guidelines for providing better support both during and after health crises.