Introduction
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– Disorder-specific changes in the frequency of referrals during the pandemic,
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– Mental disorders apparently caused or triggered by the pandemic, including observed changes in patients’ digital media-related behavior during the pandemic,
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– Mental health problems that seemed specific for the pandemic or had not been encountered before in this form or intensity,
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– Subgroups of patients who had been particularly affected by the pandemic,
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– Peaks in the severity of psychological burden experienced in the course of the first year of the pandemic.
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– Finally, we assessed how frequently mental health professionals had been confronted with pandemic-related complaints and difficulties reported by parents.
Method and procedure
Pandemic protection measures in Switzerland
Results
Participants
N | % | |
---|---|---|
Professional group | ||
Child and adolescent psychiatrists | 175 | 38.5 |
Child and adolescent psychologists | 247 | 54.4 |
Other | 18 | 3.9 |
Not stated | 14 | 3.1 |
Work context | ||
Independent practice (for child and adolescent psychiatry or psychology) | 247 | 54.4 |
Clinic for child and adolescent psychiatry | 135 | 29.8 |
Outpatient services/day clinic | 115 | |
Inpatient clinic/ward | 20 | |
Other/not stated | 72 | 15.8 |
Total participants | 454 | 100 |
The pandemic’s impact on referral, frequency, severity and as trigger of mental disorders
Strong decrease | Slight decrease | Unchanged | Slight increase | Strong increase | Not applicable/not stated | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Family conflicts | 0.2 | 0.2 | 20.7 | 46.7 | 23.8 | 8.4 |
Physical assault, sexual abuse | 0.0 | 0.4 | 42.3 | 20.0 | 2.6 | 34.6 |
Self-harm | 0.0 | 0.9 | 27.1 | 38.5 | 18.1 | 15.4 |
Emergencies, crisis intervention | 0.2 | 0.2 | 10.4 | 39.2 | 37.0 | 13.0 |
Suicidality | 0.0 | 0.9 | 20.7 | 39.4 | 24.4 | 14.5 |
Depression | 0.2 | 0.0 | 9.0 | 40.1 | 46.7 | 4.0 |
Anxiety disorders | 0.2 | 0.4 | 12.6 | 39.0 | 42.5 | 5.3 |
Psychosomatic disorders | 0.2 | 0.4 | 24.2 | 41.0 | 25.1 | 9.0 |
Adjustment disorders, trauma | 0.2 | 0.7 | 39.4 | 33.0 | 9.9 | 16.7 |
ADHD | 0.2 | 2.4 | 63.0 | 17.0 | 4.2 | 13.2 |
Aggressiveness, behavioral/conduct disorder | 0.0 | 2.2 | 36.3 | 36.3 | 10.1 | 15.0 |
Autism spectrum disorders | 0.2 | 2.2 | 62.4 | 7.6 | 2.6 | 25.0 |
Learning problems | 0.2 | 2.4 | 27.5 | 36.3 | 19.8 | 13.7 |
OCD | 0.4 | 0.4 | 33.5 | 35.7 | 9.0 | 20.9 |
Eating disorders | 0.2 | 0.2 | 32.2 | 29.7 | 11.9 | 25.8 |
Behavioral addictions (e.g., gaming) | 0.2 | 0.0 | 17.0 | 38.8 | 25.8 | 18.3 |
Substance-related addictions (e.g., alcohol) | 0.2 | 0.2 | 32.8 | 26.7 | 8.6 | 31.5 |
Psychosis, schizophrenia | 0.0 | 0.0 | 46.3 | 8.6 | 1.1 | 44.1 |
Borderline personality disorder | 0.0 | 0.0 | 43.8 | 16.7 | 2.6 | 36.8 |
Personality disorders in general | 0.0 | 0.0 | 38.1 | 12.6 | 1.3 | 48.0 |
N | % | |
---|---|---|
Depression | 305 | 67.2 |
Family conflicts | 272 | 59.9 |
Psychosomatic disordersa) | 181 | 39.9 |
Sleep disorders | 154 | |
Headache | 85 | |
Other pain | 48 | |
Suicidality | 162 | 37.7 |
School refusal, social anxiety | 161 | 35.5 |
Addiction, drug usea) | 108 | 23.8 |
Alcohol | 46 | |
Drugs (e. g. cannabis) | 66 | |
Gaming (PUI) | 99 | |
Eating disordersa) | 87 | 19.2 |
Eating disorder in the strict sense (anorexia, bulimia) | 70 | |
Uncontrolled food intake | 30 | |
Severe weight gain | 30 | |
Unfavorable eating habits (junk food) | 35 | |
Loss of appetite | 22 | |
Food refusal | 23 | |
Domestic violence/abusea) | 63 | 13.9 |
Violence of the patient against the parent(s) | 33 | |
Violence of a parent against the child | 49 | |
Violence between parents | 40 | |
Sexual abuse | 7 | |
No, the pandemic was usually not a trigger | 34 | 7.5 |
Other | 67 | 14.7 |
Not applicable/not stated | 32 | 7.1 |
Problematic internet and digital media use
Never | Seldom | Some-times | Quite often | Very often | Not applicable/not stated | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | % | % | % | |
Before the pandemic | 6.2 | 18.7 | 43.4 | 18.9 | 1.3 | 11.5 |
Since/during the pandemic | 6.6 | 10.8 | 29.7 | 25.3 | 15.9 | 11.5 |
Impact of the pandemic on pre-existent disorders, on patient subgroups and time course of psychological burden
N | % | |
---|---|---|
Depression | 306 | 67.4 |
Anxiety disorder | 286 | 63.0 |
OCD | 127 | 26.0 |
ADHD | 117 | 25.8 |
Trauma, adjustment disorder | 99 | 21.1 |
Eating disorder | 86 | 18.9 |
Autism spectrum disorder | 45 | 9.9 |
Psychosis | 22 | 4.8 |
Other | 14 | 3.1 |
Not stated | 74 | 16.3 |
N | % | |
---|---|---|
No one has benefited | 30 | 6.6 |
Some patients have benefited | ||
Some patients with ADHD | 64 | 14.1 |
Some patients with ASD | 135 | 29.7 |
Some patients with anxiety disorder | 127 | 28.0 |
Some patients with depression | 19 | 4.2 |
Only during the lockdown (March/April 2020) | 140 | 30.8 |
Only short term | 150 | 33.0 |
Don’t know/not stated | 64 | 14.1 |
Other | 37 | 8.1 |
Free text comments (summary) | ||
School phobia/school absenteeism | 5 | |
Social anxiety | 12 | |
Learning disorders, school problems | 3 | |
OCD | 1 | |
Victim of bullying | 2 | |
Other | 12 |
N | % | |
---|---|---|
Younger children (up to 7 years) | 7 | 1.5 |
Primary school age (7–12 years) | 47 | 10.1 |
Adolescents (13 years and older) | 290 | 63.9 |
All about the same | 51 | 11.2 |
Don’t know/not stated | 56 | 12.2 |
Pandemic-specific problems
N | |
---|---|
Fear of the future, education more difficult, career entry more difficult, lack of perspective, disorientation, “stolen youth” | 49 |
School absenteeism, school anxiety, fear of returning to school | 25 |
Lack of social contact, loneliness | 24 |
Hypochondria/anxieties/compulsions intensified or newly developed because of pandemic hygiene rules and attention to symptoms | 18 |
Digital media consumption, digital media addiction | 16 |
Obsessive–compulsive patients had more time to pursue compulsions, anxiety and compulsions increased or new, panic attacks | 15 |
Suicidality/depression | 13 |
Lack of sports opportunities exacerbate hyperactivity and weight problems, no recreational opportunities | 11 |
Family conflicts, domestic violence | 11 |
Lack of school and parental guidance, lack of structure | 10 |
Financial problems, parents’ loss of work promotes conflicts | 7 |
Loss of stabilizing factors (e.g., meeting friends, future plans, meeting grandparents) leads to decompensation | 6 |
Difficulty in detaching from parents; adolescents feeling overly controlled by parents | 5 |
Fear that family members might die or be infected, topic of death, mourning | 5 |
Activity buildup impossible for patients with depression | 4 |
Positive aspects: Families benefit from quiet time at home, relief from social pressure for autistic patients, fathers are more present | 4 |
Drugs | 4 |
Insufficient regulatory control of families at risk | 1 |
Long-COVID syndrome | 1 |
The situation of parents during the pandemic
Much less | A little less | No change | A little more | Much more | Not stated | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | % | % | % | |
Conflicts between patient and parent(s) | 0.2 | 0.7 | 13.9 | 56.6 | 19.2 | 9.5 |
Conflicts between parents | 0.0 | 0.4 | 17.2 | 53.1 | 15.0 | 14.3 |
Domestic violence | 0.0 | 0.4 | 23.6 | 36.1 | 3.5 | 36.3 |
Financial problems/job loss | 0.0 | 0.0 | 15.2 | 48.7 | 19.4 | 16.7 |
General isolation of the family | 0.0 | 0.2 | 11.5 | 48.0 | 24.7 | 15.6 |
Isolation/loneliness of the child/adolescent | 0.0 | 0.2 | 3.7 | 39.4 | 49.1 | 7.5 |
Lack of child care options | 0.7 | 0.2 | 18.7 | 36.3 | 25.6 | 18.5 |
Concern about child's future/education | 0.0 | 0.9 | 15.4 | 38.8 | 33.0 | 11.9 |
Mental problems of one parent | 0.0 | 0.2 | 34.1 | 34.8 | 7.5 | 23.3 |
Addiction/alcohol problems of one parent | 0.0 | 0.0 | 37.0 | 25.3 | 3.3 | 34.4 |
Never | Rarely | Some-times | Often | Very/extremely often | Not stated | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
% | % | % | % | % | % | |
The child is left alone at home (lack of child care possibilities) | 6.8 | 18.5 | 34.6 | 15.4 | 10.4 | 14.3 |
Parents cannot adequately take care of the child due to work at home | 4.4 | 11.7 | 33.0 | 23.3 | 13.3 | 14.3 |
Mothers suffer from the multiple burdens (child care, home office, household) | 0.7 | 2.9 | 16.7 | 31.9 | 36.3 | 11.5 |
Fathers suffer from the multiple burdens (child care, home office, household) | 2.2 | 12.8 | 31.9 | 25.1 | 13.7 | 14.3 |
Parents feel overwhelmed by supervision of homeschooling | 0.0 | 3.1 | 21.1 | 32.8 | 32.4 | 10.6 |
Parent–child conflicts because of homeschooling | 0.7 | 3.7 | 22.9 | 30.4 | 29.3 | 13.0 |
Parents allow excessive media use to keep child occupied | 0.0 | 3.1 | 17.6 | 29.3 | 37.4 | 12.6 |
Learning problems due to homeschooling | 0.4 | 5.5 | 20.0 | 31.3 | 30.0 | 13.0 |