In March 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic began affecting people from all corners of the world. Millions of professionals, students, and migrants began fleeing to their home countries in an effort to be able to be near their families in the likely event of the pandemic causing months-long postponement to long-term plans. The result of this sudden migration was governments naturally attempting to avoid a spike in coronavirus cases due to international travel, hence enforcing varying degrees of lockdown on their populations. One consequence of lockdown regulations in many countries was the enforcement of a period of quarantine for people who had travelled from abroad. This period of time, generally 14 days, served as a way to be able to identify the symptoms of COViD-19 in travellers before they could come into contact with anyone else and potentially cause a spread of the virus. While the idea of completely isolating a person from people in their immediate surroundings was physically an excellent way to prevent the spread of the virus, and get an individual with symptoms the treatment they needed at the earliest, its implications on the mental health of the individuals may not have been as positive. This article aims to focus on the impact of the quarantine period on the mental health of a specific population- namely children and adolescents, and how complete isolation may take a toll on them.
The worldwide efforts towards curbing the spread of coronavirus are focused immensely on social isolation and absolute lack of physical contact between individuals. Man is, however, a social animal, and the effects of loneliness on an individual’s mental health can be severe. A study by Loades et al [1] analysed the impact of social isolation and loneliness on the mental health of children and adolescents in the context of COVID-19. The results showed that children and adolescents are more likely to experience high rates of depression and anxiety both during and after a period of mandatory isolation. Research suggests the association between loneliness and mental health are overwhelming over a period of time[2]. The length of loneliness also seems to be a predictor of mental health issues for up to 9 years in the future. Since politicians across the world are considering the length of time for which schools will remain closed, the implications of extended lack of social contact and loneliness for adolescents and children across the world are rather unfortunate.
For many university and college students, the abrupt changes in lifestyle due to the sudden necessity of returning home from campus caused a change in behavioural patterns. In a study conducted on young adults in Spain, it was found that during the COViD-19 outbreak, adolescents seemed to be spending less time engaging in physical activity, and more time engaging with electronic devices, and also sleeping more hours.[3] The quality of sleep, however, seemed to be regressing over the period of enforced isolation, mainly due to feelings of uncertainty, stress, hopelessness, and fear. Poor sleep quality, coupled with a lack of time spent outdoors or exercising, in turn, increases negative mood.[4] An increased negative mood during a stressful time such as a global pandemic would mean that the majority of adolescents with obligations such as school and work would be unable to fulfil their tasks to the best of their abilities.
Coping strategies are essential, and though many adolescents have taken to spending longer on their electronic devices and hence sacrificing sleep, it is understandable to want some sort of communication with the outside world during a period of isolation. Healthier methods of coping with loneliness, however, may include short exercise sessions every day or every two days, trying to limit the amount of screen time to improve sleep quality, or learning a new skill. Keeping busy while in isolation is essential to avoid major feelings of loneliness and helplessness. Keeping off social media also ensures avoidance of the infodemic which comes alongside a major global event such as a pandemic. An infodemic refers to the spread of misinformation and catastrophised information about an event or crisis.[5] The regulation of time on social media hence regulates the intake of information about the crisis, which then in turn reduces feelings of despair and hopelessness. Holding a positive mindset and keeping busy are the two best things one can do in these troubling times.
The coronavirus pandemic has indeed caused many changes in the lives of children, adolescents, and adults alike. Some demographics, however, have definitely been impacted more severely than others when it comes to the state of mental well-being during a stressful time. After having to cease all forms of social interaction, move back into environments that are not necessarily the easiest to focus in, and then being told to uphold a certain standard of work for the sake of an education, the youth of today have definitely had to face a lot of difficulties this year.
1, 2- Loades, M. E., Chatburn, E., Higson-Sweeney, N., Reynolds, S., Shafran, R., Brigden, A., ... & Crawley, E. (2020). Rapid Systematic Review: The Impact of Social Isolation and Loneliness on the Mental Health of Children and Adolescents in the Context of COVID-19. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
3- Sañudo, B., Fennell, C., & Sánchez-Oliver, A. J. (2020). Objectively-Assessed Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, Smartphone Use, and Sleep Patterns Pre-and during-COVID-19 Quarantine in Young Adults from Spain. Sustainability, 12(15), 5890.
4- Talbot, L. S., McGlinchey, E. L., Kaplan, K. A., Dahl, R. E., & Harvey, A. G. (2010). Sleep deprivation in adolescents and adults: changes in affect. Emotion, 10(6), 831.
5- Zarocostas, J. (2020). How to fight an infodemic. The Lancet, 395(10225), 676.
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