Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic in children: a review and suggested solutions

BACKGROUND: The outbreak of coronavirus began in China in December 2019. It became a pandemic and a public health emergency. There have been numerous reports related to post-traumatic stress disorder outbreaks in the COVID-19 crisis. After a natural disaster, children are at a higher risk for post-traumatic stress disorder. The current study is a review of the scientific literature on the effect of COVID-19 on the prevalence of symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder in children. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus databases until February 02, 2022. The search strategy was based on a combination of the following keywords “child,” “COVID-19,” and “post-traumatic stress disorder.” RESULTS: By searching the Web of Science, Scopus, and PubMed databases, 173 articles were retrieved. After reviewing the inclusion criteria and in terms of eligibility, 10 articles met the inclusion criteria out of the remaining 46 articles. Based on the findings, 80% of the articles were cross-sectional and 20% of them were longitudinal. The articles reviewed in this study reported an increase in the prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in children during or after the COVID-19 pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, the findings of this review showed that restrictions and fears of COVID-19 had negative psychological effects on children. As well, one of the most important issues that arose at the time of the tragedy was that children were suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Given that post-traumatic stress disorder can be treated, it is essential to choose the appropriate therapeutic intervention approach in order to better deal with the negative effects in children.