Strategies to Promote the Mental Health of Children and Teenagers during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Narrative Review

School closures, home quarantine, and change in social relationships during the COVID-19 pandemic are the most important factors that influence physical and mental health status in children and teenagers and cause numerous psychological problems in these people who are highly vulnerable. The aim of the current study was to assess, identify and present the psychological interventions affecting the mental health status of children and teenagers.

This narrative review examines published papers on the consequences and presentation of psychological interventions for the mental health of children and teenagers during the COVID-19 pandemic from July 21, 2020, to December 25, 2021. A comprehensive search was done using the keywords of COVID-19 pandemic, the mental health of children and teenagers, and psychological interventions in crises on scientific databases of Pubmed, Science Direct, Scopus, Google Scholar.

In total, out of 128 papers, 46 papers were analyzed. According to the results, factors such as long-term fear of infectious with SARS-CoV-2, reduced communication with people in the educational environment, lack of adequate home space, feelings of failure and boredom, and finally financial problems of parents are the most important factors that may have significant effects on the mental health of children and teenagers.

Since most psychological disorders are rooted in childhood and children and teenagers are in a very sensitive period of their mental development, mental health cares during crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic is very important. Therefore, by early examination and identification of mental health disorders in children and teenagers and subsequently, identify the causes of these disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic, and finally, by providing useful solutions and preventive interventions, the occurrence of these disorders may be prevented in children and teenagers during this pandemic.