Differences in perceived threat and trauma in children during the COVID-19 pandemic

Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health

Research

Anna Wenter¹  Gabriele Kohlboeck²  Kathrin Sevecke³  Silvia Exenberger⁴ 

[1] Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria;Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria;Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Tirol Kliniken, Milser Straße 10, 6060, Hall in Tirol, Innsbruck, Austria;Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Tirol Kliniken, Milser Straße 10, 6060, Hall in Tirol, Innsbruck, Austria;Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria;Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Tirol Kliniken, Milser Straße 10, 6060, Hall in Tirol, Innsbruck, Austria;Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria;Department of Psychology, University of Innsbruck, Innsbruck, Austria;

关键词: Children;    Trauma;    Stress;    Mental health;    COVID-19;    Psychopathology;    PTSD;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s13034-023-00628-5

 received in 2022-11-29, accepted in 2023-06-12,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThe past 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic were stressful for most children and adolescents; some children may have experienced a high level of stress and trauma. To date, no study has examined self-reported stress and trauma levels due to COVID-19 in children. This study aimed to assess perceived threat, exposure and trauma symptoms in children aged 7–13 years. In addition, we explored whether parent-reported factors could predict a higher risk of COVID-19 vulnerability in their children.MethodCross-sectional data were collected from 752 children to assess COVID-19 threat, exposure and trauma symptoms using the self- and parent-reported Child and Adolescent Trauma Screening Self-Report (CATS) Trauma questionnaire. We used exploratory analyses (factor analysis of mixed data and hierarchical clustering) to identify subgroups (i.e., clusters) of children sharing similar characteristics in the dataset. Linear regression modeling was applied to determine the likelihood of higher threat and vulnerability in children with parent-reported COVID-19 threat, exposure, CATS trauma symptoms, behaviors on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and posttraumatic growth (PTG).ResultsWe identified a high-risk group of children reporting clinically relevant trauma symptoms and COVID-19-related fears. Parents’ reports of trauma could be used to identify children at high risk.ConclusionsApproximately 25% of children reported moderate to clinically relevant levels of trauma symptom. It is especially important to offer adequate support to these children to ease the trauma and prevent their symptoms from developing into psychopathology.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023

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