Impact of COVID19 lockdown on seven dimensions of mental health of children (3 to 8 years) in Telengana and Andhra Pradesh states in India

Abstract

To assess the effect of COVID-19 lockdown period on seven domains of mental health of children. The study was a qualitative explorative research conducted in October 2020, using Snow ball method of sampling through online (Google form) questionnaire constructed to assess the mental health and wellbeing of children as perceived by their parents. The online questionnaire consisted of total 35 items presented under seven mental health dimensions. The responses received were 173 of which 17 were invalid and the total sample comprised of 156 parents of children (3-8 years). The data was subjected to statistical analysis using SPSS to examine the association between the age and mental health in seven domains and also the gender and mental health. In addition, the Kruskal -Wallis H test was used to test the seven null hypotheses formulated. The findings of the study showed that parents perceived mental health problems in their children in seven dimensions and they did not vary much in their perception of problems. There was strong relationship between the age of the children and five mental health dimensions studied, indicating the need for equipping the parents with necessary skills to help children cope with the mental health problems.