Subjective experience of children during lockdown in Spain: a descriptive study

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Published

2022-08-31

How to Cite

García Murillo, L., Mallol Castaño, L., Diaz de Neira, M., Isidoro Fernández, B., Forti Buratti, A., Muñoz Domenjó, A., Blasco Fontecilla, H., & Palanca Maresca, I. (2022). Subjective experience of children during lockdown in Spain: a descriptive study. Revista De Psiquiatría Infanto-Juvenil, 39(3), 12–20. https://doi.org/10.31766/revpsij.v39n3a3

Issue

Vol. 39 No. 3 (2022): Julio-Septiembre

Section

Orginial article
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Scopus
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Europe PMC

Authors

  • L. García Murillo Departamento de Psiquiatría, Sección de Psiquiatría Infanto-Juvenil, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Majadahonda, Madrid
  • L. Mallol Castaño Departamento de Psiquiatría, Sección de Psiquiatría Infanto-Juvenil, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Majadahonda, Madrid http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3389-3426
  • M. Diaz de Neira Departamento de Psiquiatría, Sección de Psiquiatría Infanto-Juvenil, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Majadahonda, Madrid http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2139-6908
  • B. Isidoro Fernández Servicio de Medicina Preventiva y Gestión de Calidad. Hospital Universitario del Sureste (Arganda del Rey) http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9177-4575
  • A. Forti Buratti Departamento de Psiquiatría, Sección de Psiquiatría Infanto-Juvenil, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Majadahonda, Madrid http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3503-0464
  • A. Muñoz Domenjó Servicio de Psiquiatría Hospital Universitario de Móstoles. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5922-7205
  • H. Blasco Fontecilla Departamento de Psiquiatría, Sección de Psiquiatría Infanto-Juvenil, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Majadahonda. CIBER Salud Mental (CIBERSAM). ITA Salud Mental-Consulting, Madrid http://orcid.org/0000-0002-2864-6298
  • I. Palanca Maresca Departamento de Psiquiatría, Sección de Psiquiatría Infanto-Juvenil, Hospital Universitario Puerta de Hierro, Majadahonda, Madrid http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4910-9202

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.31766/revpsij.v39n3a3

Keywords:

confinement, children, COVID-19, subjective experience

Abstract

Introduction: The effect of the lockdown that took place in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic on the population’s mental health remains uncertain. The main goal of this study is to know the subjective experience of Spanish children, especially those who were under treatment on Mental Health services. Material and methods: We performed an observational cross-sectional study. Surveys for children between 5 and 11 years old were distributed to parents through Internet. Questionnaires were prepared ad-hoc to be completed anonymously online. Results: We recruited 116 children, with a mean age of 7,78 years. Of these, 21.6% were under Mental Health treatment. In our sample, general experience was good with respect to themselves (6.77/10), their family (8.17/10), their studies (6.47/10) and their hobbies (6.73/10), being similar among both groups. We found differences between the group of children who were under mental health follow-up and the group that was not, in terms of friends (p=0.022) and COVID-19 (p=0.012), the experience of the second group of children being worse than that of the first group. No differences were found based on whether the parents worked in jobs with higher risk of COVID-19 risk of contagion. Conclusions: Our results highlight the relevance of considering as early as possible the psychological aspects of possible traumatic events such as confinement, as well as being able to better understand the experiences of children in order to optimize future strategies for promoting their resilience and preventing subsequent negative consequences.

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