The Coronavirus Pandemic and the Mental Health Presentations of Young Children
Abstract
Children under the age of four are emotionally vulnerable to global disasters such as the COVID-19 pandemic because of the lack of socialization opportunities and coping mechanisms, and susceptibility to heightened caregiver stress. Currently, the extent to which the pandemic impacted the mental health of treatment-seeking young children is unknown. To evaluate how children’s mental health outcomes were impacted during the pandemic, 1,343 interRAI Early Years assessments were obtained from 11 agencies across the Province of Ontario, during pre-pandemic and pandemic timepoints. Findings demonstrated that the number of assessments declined during the pandemic. Further, children’s emotional concerns differed before and during the pandemic, whereby children exhibited greater emotional dysregulation during the pandemic. However, there were no significant differences when examining caregiver distress, parenting strengths, child distractibility/inattention or behavioural issues. Clinical implications for young children and their families, clinicians, and educators are discussed.