Hostname: page-component-76fb5796d-25wd4 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-28T07:14:08.864Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Impact of school closures during the pandemic on screen time and behavior of children: Evidence from a developing country

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

P. Malhi ,
B. Bharti  and
M. Sidhu
P. Malhi*
Affiliation:
Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Department Of Pediatrics, Chandigarh, India
B. Bharti
Affiliation:
Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Department Of Pediatrics, Chandigarh, India
M. Sidhu
Affiliation:
MCM DAV College, Department Of Psychology, Chandigarh, India
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Introduction

Serious concerns regarding the indirect physical and mental health impact of the extended school closure measure to control the spread of the pandemic have been raised, however, the extent of the problem remains unquantified in India.

Objectives

To examine the impact of school closures on recreational screen time, emotional, and behavioral functioning of school-going children during the pandemic.

Methods

The survey utilized a Google form that was sent to parents of children (6-14 years) through emails and social media platforms. Parents were asked to report on the child’s duration of recreational screen time and whether the child’s overall behavioral functioning had changed since the school closures. The child’s emotional and behavioral functioning was assessed by the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). The study was cleared by the Ethics committee.

Results

A total of 160 parents were recruited for the study. Overall, a little more one-fourth (28.1%) of the children’s behavior was reported to have worsened. The mean recreational screen time was 2.65 hours (SD=1.89). A significantly higher proportion of children whose behavior worsened after school closures, relative to those whose behavior improved or remained same, had scores in the abnormal range of functioning on three of the subscales of SDQ. Stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that recreational screen time explained 2% of the variance in the total SDQ score (F=4.18. P=.04).

Conclusions

Increase in psychological services supporting healthy behaviors and anticipatory telehealth consultations for high-risk children and families is the need of the hour to foster psychological wellbeing during the pandemic.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

pandemicschool closurescreen timebehavior
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S687
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.