Presenter(s): Juliana Esquivel — Human Physiology
Co-Presenter(s): Lauren Michels
Faculty Mentor(s): Claire Guidinger, Nichole Kelly
Session: (In-Person) Poster Presentation
The COVID-19 pandemic has had negative effect on children’s mental health, especially as they lost social connections transitioning from in-person education to remote learning. This study sought to better understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in a sample of rural Oregon children. We hypothesized that during height of the COVID-19 pandemic, children would report increased social dissatisfaction and loneliness (SDL), depression, and anxiety, and decreased body appreciation. This study included secondary analyses from a federally funded clinical trial on rural Oregon children’s health (R21HD094661 NICHD). Children filled out surveys in-person pre-COVID-19 and remotely during COVID-19 (February-April 2021) as a follow-up assessment. Paired samples t-tests compared children’s mental health pre-pandemic and during the pandemic. When comparing pre- pandemic and pandemic mental health, there were no statistically significant differences in children’s SDL, anxiety, and body appreciation (p’s>.05). There was a statistically significant difference in children’s depressive symptoms pre- (M = 0.32, SD =.18) and during the pandemic (M = .92, SD = .11). Children endorsed feeling more depressed during the COVID-19 pandemic, t(33) = 15.08, p<.001, d = .23. Given the observed increase in depressive symptoms in our sample, mental health resources in elementary schools should become more available as children now face transitioning back into a post-pandemic world.