Skip to main content

Advertisement

Springer Nature Link
Log in

An Examination of Mental Health Rates in Children During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings from the National Health Interview Survey 2019–2020

  • Review
  • Published:
Child Psychiatry & Human Development Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The study objective was to examine the mental health of children during a time period that included the COVID-19 Lockdown. The sample included a cross-section of children aged 2 to 17 years (2019; n = 4, 194; 2020; n = 5,172), from the National Health Interview Survey. In multivariate models, survey years 2020 and 2019 were compared for significant changes in anxiety, depression, and social behaviors in children after adjustment for sociodemographic variables. Bivariate analysis also examined sociodemographic characteristics, health care utilization by anxiety, depression, and social behaviors, and examined differences in anxiety and depression from 2019 to 2020. In multivariate models, there was an increased risk of anxiety ((AOR = 1.3(1.0, 1.6)), depression ((AOR = 1.2 (1.0, 1.4)) and difficult social behaviors (AOR = 1.2 (1.0, 1.4) in children from 2019 to 2020. Girls were at increased risk compared to boys for anxiety and depression ((anxiety; AOR = 1.4 (1.2, 1.8), depression; AOR = 1.2 (1.0, 1.3)), however, girls were at decreased risk compared to boys for uncontrolled social behaviors (AOR = 0.51 (0.43, 0.61)). White children were at increased risk for anxiety and depression compared to all other race and ethnic groups. High rates of anxiety, depression and difficult social behaviors that preexisted the Covid-19 Lock Down, continued or increased during the Lockdown. Effective public health interventions could prevent further declines in mental health, and a potential trajectory into adulthood of poor physical and mental health.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Explore related subjects

Discover the latest articles and news from researchers in related subjects, suggested using machine learning.

Data Availability

No datasets were generated or analysed during the current study.

References

  1. Chilamakuri R, Agarwal S (2021) COVID-19: characteristics and therapeutics. Cells 10(2):206. https://doi.org/10.3390/cells10020206

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  2. Janik E, Niemcewicz M, Podogrocki M et al (2021) The emerging concern and interest SARS-CoV-2 variants. Pathogens 10(6):633. https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens10060633

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Berger LM, Ferrari G, Leturcq M et al (2021) COVID-19 lockdowns and demographically-relevant Google trends: a cross-national analysis. Ortega JA. ed PLOS ONE 16(3):e0248072. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248072

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Tandon PS, Zhou C, Johnson AM et al (2021) Association of children’s physical activity and screen time with mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. JAMA Netw Open 4(10):e2127892. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.27892

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  5. Raimondi S, Cammarata G, Testa G et al (2022) The impact of sport activity shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic on children, adolescents, and young adults: was it worthwhile? Int J Environ Res Public Health 19(13):7908. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19137908

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Burgos RM, Badowski ME, Drwiega E et al (2021) The race to a COVID-19 vaccine: opportunities and challenges in development and distribution. Drugs Context 10:1–10. https://doi.org/10.7573/dic.2020-12-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. KFF COVID-19 Vaccine Monitor Dashboard, Published KFF (2021) February 26, https://www.kff.org/coronavirus-covid-19/dashboard/kff-covid-19-vaccine-monitor-dashboard/

  8. Hause AM (2021) COVID-19 vaccine safety in adolescents aged 12–17 years — United States, December 14, 2020–July 16, 2021. MMWR 70. https://doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm7031e1

  9. Lebrun-Harris LA, Ghandour RM, Kogan MD et al (2022) Five-Year Trends in US Children’s Health and Well-being, 2016–2020. JAMA Pediatr Published Online March 14. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2022.0056

  10. NHIS – 2020 NHIS. www.cdc.gov. Published February 4 (2021) https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/2020nhis.htm

  11. NHIS - About the National Health Interview Survey (2019) https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhis/about_nhis.htm

  12. Liu X, Liu C, Liu G et al (2020) COVID-19: progress in diagnostics, therapy and vaccination. Theranostics 10(17):7821–7835. https://doi.org/10.7150/thno.47987

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. IPUMS NHIS nhis.ipums.org. https://nhis.ipums.org/nhis/userNotes_weights.shtml

  14. BSG Working Paper Series Variation in US States’ COVID-19 policy responses. //efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.bsg.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2021-05/BSG-WP-2020-034-v3.pdf

  15. McCarthy JF, Blow FC, Ignacio RV et al (2012) Suicide among patients in the veteran’s affairs health system: rural–urban differences in rates, risks, and methods. Am J Public Health 102(S1):S111–S117. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2011.300463

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  16. Weissman JD, Russell D (2016) Relationships between living arrangements and health status among older adults in the United States, 2009–2014: Findings from the national health interview survey. J Applied Gerontology. June 26, 37(1):7–25, 201. https://doi.org/10.1177/0733464816655439

  17. Weissman J, Minen MT, Tietjen G (2020) Response to Dr. Woldeamanuel. Pain Med 21(4):872–873. https://doi.org/10.1093/pm/pnz288

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Sun GW, Shook TL, Kay GL (1996) Inappropriate use of bivariable analysis to screen risk factors for use in multivariable analysis. J Clin Epidemiol 49(8):907–916. https://doi.org/10.1016/0895-4356(96)00025-x

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  19. Harrell FE (2001) Regression modeling strategies. Springer New York. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-3462-1

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Villanueva K, Badland H, Kvalsvig A, O’Connor M, Christian H, Woolcock G, Giles-Corti B, Goldfeld S (2016) Jan-Feb;16(1):10 – 9 Can the Neighborhood Built Environment Make a Difference in Children’s Development? Building the Research Agenda to Create Evidence for Place-Based Children’s Policy. Acad Pediatr. doi: 10.1016/j.acap.2015.09.006. Epub 2015 Nov 25. PMID: 26432681

  21. Essau CA, Lewinsohn PM, Lim JX et al (2018) Incidence, recurrence and comorbidity of anxiety disorders in four major developmental stages. J Affect Disord 228:248–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.12.014

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  22. Howie EK, McVeigh JA, Smith AJ et al (2020) Physical activity trajectories from childhood to late adolescence and their implications for health in young adulthood. Prev Med 139:106224. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2020.106224

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  23. Karyotaki E, Smit Y, Holdt Henningsen K et al (2016) Combining pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy or monotherapy for major depression? A meta-analysis on the long-term effects. J Affect Disord 194:144–152. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2016.01.036

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  24. Weissman J, Pratt L, Miller E, Parker J (2015) Key Findings.; https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db203.pdf

  25. Kravdal Ø, Grundy E (2019) Children’s age at parental divorce and depression in early and mid-adulthood. Pop Stud 73(1):37–56. https://doi.org/10.1080/00324728.2018.1549747

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Ritakallio M, Luukkaala T, Marttunen M et al (2010) Comorbidity between depression and antisocial behaviour in middle adolescence: the role of perceived social support. Nord J Psychiatry 64(3):164–171. https://doi.org/10.3109/08039480903264911

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

None.

Funding

No funding was required for this manuscript.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology, School of Global Public Health, New York University, 305 Broadway, Room 755, New York, 10003, USA

    Judith D. Weissman & Natalie Pinder

  2. Department of Epidemiology and Anthropology, School of Global Public Health, College of Arts & Science, New York University, 305 Broadway, Room 755, New York, NY 10003, USA

    Jayna Belle Kramsky

  3. Departments of Medicine and Population Health, Grossman School of Medicine, New York University, New York Harbor Veterans Affairs, 423 East 23rd Street 10010, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10003, USA

    Melanie Jay

  4. Department of Sociology, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

    John Taylor

Authors
  1. Judith D. Weissman
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jayna Belle Kramsky
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Natalie Pinder
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Melanie Jay
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. John Taylor
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

All of the authors contributed to the conceptualization, analysis, design and writing of this study.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Judith D. Weissman.

Ethics declarations

Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate

No IRB or additional ethical review was required because the data was publicly available from the CDC’s National center for Health Statistics (NcHS). Respondents were consented and made anonymous by the NcHS. The research did not involve the use of animals. No humans were interviewed by us for this study. Individuals were interviewed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and their identification was made completely anonymous. Information was gathered only after consent. The CDC conducts research under the highest ethical standards and the data was made publicly available.

Competing Interests

The authors declare no competing interests.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Weissman, J.D., Kramsky, J.B., Pinder, N. et al. An Examination of Mental Health Rates in Children During the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic: Findings from the National Health Interview Survey 2019–2020. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-024-01759-2

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-024-01759-2

Keywords