Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic and Related Factors on the Occurrence of Emotional-behavioral Problems in Children

Children are highly vulnerable to psychological crises and this can lead to serious problems in their mental health. Based on this, this study was conducted to investigate the behavioral and emotional problems of children during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The present cross-sectional study was performed with a descriptive-analytical approach. The study sample consisted of 360 children aged 6 to 18 years who referred to the health centers of Borujerd City, Iran, in 2021. The data collection tools included the demographic form and the Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist - parent version. Data analysis was done using descriptive and analytical tests, including independent t-test and analysis of variance test, by SPSS version 25 software.

The mean age of the studied children was 9.98±3.274 years. The majority of the participants were girls (54.1%) and first-born children (38.1%). The majority of children (83.6%) were in non-clinical or normal condition, 5.3% of children were in clinical-borderline condition, and 11.1% of children were in clinical condition. The highest and lowest mean scores of behavioral problems were related to aggressive behavior 7.08±5.68 and physical complaints 1.44±1.60, respectively. There was a significant relationship between birth order, paternal education, family income level, and the history of the child's close relatives being infected with COVID-19 with the child's general emotional-behavioral problems during the COVID-19 pandemic (P<0.05).

In general, it can be said that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to various psychological consequences in children. Therefore, it seems necessary to identify these consequences for preventive measures and early intervention for treatment.