THE IMPACT OF THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC ON CHILDREN AND THEIR PARENTS ACROSS COMMUNITY SAMPLES AND IN SPECIFIC MENTAL HEALTH POPULATIONS

摘要: Background:There is increasing recognition of the mental health (MH) impacts associated with COVID-19 for children and their families.Objectives:This symposium will examine the long-term MH impacts associated with COVID-19 across communitybased samples, children attending child and youth mental health services (CYMS) and children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).Methods:The first presentation will feature the COVID-19 unmasked study, a cohort study assessing MH in young children and their parents at four time points during the pandemic. The second presentation will focus on the COVID-19 Pandemic Adjustment Survey, which has tracked the MH of children and parents over 14 time points from April 2020 to May 2021. The final two presentations will focus on specific populations including the impact of COVID-19 on community CYMHS services (eg impacts on symptoms for children already in treatment and the demand for MH care both in CYMHS and emergency settings presentation 3). The final presentation will report on the COVID-19 ADHD survey, which has surveyed families at five time points over the pandemic.Findings:Across all studies, there was evidence of MH impacts associated with COVID-19 restrictions for children aged from 0 to 18 years, and their caregivers, across both community samples and specific MH subgroups. The study in the CYMHS setting found a 50% increase in referrals and acute presentations when comparing January to December 2019 to January to December 2020.Conclusion:Increased resources and supports are needed to address the MH needs of children and their …