Covid 19 and Child and Adolescent Mental Health

Editorial

Psychological coping of children and adolescent’s convalescent from Covid-19 is the title of the biomedical research carried out by Drs. Isaac Iran Cabrera Ruiz, head of the Department of Psychology at the «Martha Abreu» Central University of Las Villas, Miguel Ángel Toledo Méndez, professor of Psychology at the University of Medical Sciences of Villa Clara, and Addys Pérez Fernández, head of the Provincial Group of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in the central region of the country.

This research —based, fundamentally, on the findings of a study carried out by Cuban professionals in psychology and psychiatry— has as its focal point or central axis the first outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in the province of Villa Clara; Consequently, the results showed that living the traumatic experience conditioned by said viral condition can generate dissimilar psychological symptoms: anxiety («fear of the known»), anguish («fear of the unknown»), sadness (and in extreme cases, depression as a nosographic entity), irritability, aggressiveness, hyperkinesia, dependence on the caregiver (parents, guardians or adults responsible for the custody of the children’s), sleep disorders (insomnia, nightmares, night terrors), as well as excessive use of new information technology.

The specificities presented by these psychological symptoms (or others that patients may exhibit as part of the clinical-psychological picture) vary depending on age: whether they are in childhood or adolescence; privileged ages of the human life cycle. On the other hand, it is necessary to highlight the fact that these emotional manifestations are not exclusive, in any way, to the «little princes» who have suffered from Covid-19, since children and adolescents who have escaped infection by Coronavirus, they may also suffer emotional disorders in response to house confinement, which will last for several months.

The mental health professionals who undertook this investigation recommend taking care - with love, tenderness and firmness - of childhood and adolescence («fundamental clay of society»), helping our children and young people to be happy, which is so important. and necessary, such as becoming aware and incorporating into their coping style that they must wash their hands systematically, use antiseptic solution, put on a mask or face mask, and maintain physical distancing, among other health measures to remove – as far as possible – the possibility of contagion. In this endeavor, the family must play a «key» role.