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Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Behavior of Families in Italy: A Focus on Children and Adolescents

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed individuals' lifestyles to a great extent, particularly in Italy. Although many concerns about it have been highlighted, its impact on children and adolescents has scarcely been examined. The purpose of this study was to explore behavioral consequences and copi...

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Autores principales: Uccella, Sara, De Grandis, Elisa, De Carli, Fabrizio, D'Apruzzo, Maria, Siri, Laura, Preiti, Deborah, Di Profio, Sonia, Rebora, Serena, Cimellaro, Paola, Biolcati Rinaldi, Alessandra, Venturino, Cristina, Petralia, Paolo, Ramenghi, Luca Antonio, Nobili, Lino
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7893111/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33614580
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.608358
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author Uccella, Sara
De Grandis, Elisa
De Carli, Fabrizio
D'Apruzzo, Maria
Siri, Laura
Preiti, Deborah
Di Profio, Sonia
Rebora, Serena
Cimellaro, Paola
Biolcati Rinaldi, Alessandra
Venturino, Cristina
Petralia, Paolo
Ramenghi, Luca Antonio
Nobili, Lino
author_facet Uccella, Sara
De Grandis, Elisa
De Carli, Fabrizio
D'Apruzzo, Maria
Siri, Laura
Preiti, Deborah
Di Profio, Sonia
Rebora, Serena
Cimellaro, Paola
Biolcati Rinaldi, Alessandra
Venturino, Cristina
Petralia, Paolo
Ramenghi, Luca Antonio
Nobili, Lino
author_sort Uccella, Sara
collection PubMed
description The COVID-19 pandemic has changed individuals' lifestyles to a great extent, particularly in Italy. Although many concerns about it have been highlighted, its impact on children and adolescents has scarcely been examined. The purpose of this study was to explore behavioral consequences and coping strategies related to the pandemic among families in Italy, by focusing on developmental ages from the caregivers' perspective, 3 weeks into quarantine. An exploratory cross-sectional online survey was conducted over 14 days. Google Forms was employed to conduct the survey. Demographic variables and pre-existing Psychological Weaknesses (PsW) were asked. Adults' sleep difficulties (SleepScore) and coping strategies during quarantine were assessed. Behavioral changes related to quarantine of both subjects completing the form (COVIDStress) and their children (when present) were questioned. Of the 6,871 respondents, we selected 6,800 valid questionnaires; 3,245 declared children aged under 18 years of age (caregivers). PsWs were recognizable in 64.9% among non-caregivers and in 61.5% of caregivers, with a mean PsW score of 1.42 ± 1.26 and 1.30 ± 1.25 over 3 points, respectively. The 95.5% of the non-caregivers and the 96.5% of caregivers presented behavioral changes with a mean COVIDStress of 3.85 ± 1.82 and 4.09 ± 1.79 over 8, respectively (p<0.001). Sleep difficulties were present in the 61.6% of the non-caregivers and in the 64.4% of the caregivers (p < 0.001), who showed higher SleepScores (2.41 ± 1.26 against 2.57 ± 1.38 points over 6, p < 0.001). COVIDStress (and SleepScore) strongly correlated with PsW (p < 0.001). Caregivers observed behavioral changes in their children in the 64.3% of the <6 years old and in 72.5% of 6–18 years old. Caregivers' discomfort related to quarantine (COVIDStress, SleepScore) was strongly associated to behavioral changes in both age groups of <6 and 6–18 (p < 0.001). Presence of caregivers' coping strategies was less associated to behavioral changes in the <6 sample (p = 0.001) but not in the 6–18 (p = 0.06). The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted families in Italy with regard to behavioral changes, especially in high-risk categories with PsWs and caregivers, especially the ones with children aged <6 years. While coping strategies functioned as protective factors, a wide array of stress symptoms had implications for children's and adolescents' behaviors. It is recommended that public children welfare strategies be implemented, especially for higher-psychosocial-risk categories.
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spelling pubmed-78931112021-02-20 Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Behavior of Families in Italy: A Focus on Children and Adolescents Uccella, Sara De Grandis, Elisa De Carli, Fabrizio D'Apruzzo, Maria Siri, Laura Preiti, Deborah Di Profio, Sonia Rebora, Serena Cimellaro, Paola Biolcati Rinaldi, Alessandra Venturino, Cristina Petralia, Paolo Ramenghi, Luca Antonio Nobili, Lino Front Public Health Public Health The COVID-19 pandemic has changed individuals' lifestyles to a great extent, particularly in Italy. Although many concerns about it have been highlighted, its impact on children and adolescents has scarcely been examined. The purpose of this study was to explore behavioral consequences and coping strategies related to the pandemic among families in Italy, by focusing on developmental ages from the caregivers' perspective, 3 weeks into quarantine. An exploratory cross-sectional online survey was conducted over 14 days. Google Forms was employed to conduct the survey. Demographic variables and pre-existing Psychological Weaknesses (PsW) were asked. Adults' sleep difficulties (SleepScore) and coping strategies during quarantine were assessed. Behavioral changes related to quarantine of both subjects completing the form (COVIDStress) and their children (when present) were questioned. Of the 6,871 respondents, we selected 6,800 valid questionnaires; 3,245 declared children aged under 18 years of age (caregivers). PsWs were recognizable in 64.9% among non-caregivers and in 61.5% of caregivers, with a mean PsW score of 1.42 ± 1.26 and 1.30 ± 1.25 over 3 points, respectively. The 95.5% of the non-caregivers and the 96.5% of caregivers presented behavioral changes with a mean COVIDStress of 3.85 ± 1.82 and 4.09 ± 1.79 over 8, respectively (p<0.001). Sleep difficulties were present in the 61.6% of the non-caregivers and in the 64.4% of the caregivers (p < 0.001), who showed higher SleepScores (2.41 ± 1.26 against 2.57 ± 1.38 points over 6, p < 0.001). COVIDStress (and SleepScore) strongly correlated with PsW (p < 0.001). Caregivers observed behavioral changes in their children in the 64.3% of the <6 years old and in 72.5% of 6–18 years old. Caregivers' discomfort related to quarantine (COVIDStress, SleepScore) was strongly associated to behavioral changes in both age groups of <6 and 6–18 (p < 0.001). Presence of caregivers' coping strategies was less associated to behavioral changes in the <6 sample (p = 0.001) but not in the 6–18 (p = 0.06). The COVID-19 pandemic has adversely impacted families in Italy with regard to behavioral changes, especially in high-risk categories with PsWs and caregivers, especially the ones with children aged <6 years. While coping strategies functioned as protective factors, a wide array of stress symptoms had implications for children's and adolescents' behaviors. It is recommended that public children welfare strategies be implemented, especially for higher-psychosocial-risk categories. Frontiers Media S.A. 2021-02-05 /pmc/articles/PMC7893111/ /pubmed/33614580 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.608358 Text en Copyright © 2021 Uccella, De Grandis, De Carli, D'Apruzzo, Siri, Preiti, Di Profio, Rebora, Cimellaro, Biolcati Rinaldi, Venturino, Petralia, Ramenghi and Nobili. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Public Health
Uccella, Sara
De Grandis, Elisa
De Carli, Fabrizio
D'Apruzzo, Maria
Siri, Laura
Preiti, Deborah
Di Profio, Sonia
Rebora, Serena
Cimellaro, Paola
Biolcati Rinaldi, Alessandra
Venturino, Cristina
Petralia, Paolo
Ramenghi, Luca Antonio
Nobili, Lino
Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Behavior of Families in Italy: A Focus on Children and Adolescents
title Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Behavior of Families in Italy: A Focus on Children and Adolescents
title_full Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Behavior of Families in Italy: A Focus on Children and Adolescents
title_fullStr Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Behavior of Families in Italy: A Focus on Children and Adolescents
title_full_unstemmed Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Behavior of Families in Italy: A Focus on Children and Adolescents
title_short Impact of the COVID-19 Outbreak on the Behavior of Families in Italy: A Focus on Children and Adolescents
title_sort impact of the covid-19 outbreak on the behavior of families in italy: a focus on children and adolescents
topic Public Health
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7893111/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33614580
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.608358
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