COVID-19 Pandemic: Mental Health in Girls With and Without Fragile X Syndrome

Abstract

Objective: Children and adolescents, who have less developed coping skills, are affected by natural disasters and other traumatic events differently than adults. Emotional and behavioral effects are particularly pronounced during a pandemic-related disaster, when support networks that typically promote healthy coping, such as friends, teachers, and family members, may be less available. Children and adolescents with fragile X syndrome (FXS), who are at increased risk for developing anxiety and depression, may be particularly vulnerable to behavioral or emotional difficulties during a pandemic. This study examined the mental health outcomes of school-aged girls with FXS during the COVID-19 pandemic and associated stay-at-home orders.

Methods: Participants included 47 school-aged girls with FXS and 33 age- and developmentally matched comparison girls. Associations between COVID-19 behavioral and emotional outcomes and prior academic, adaptive, behavioral, and emotional functioning as well as prior maternal mental health and characteristics of the mother-child relationship were examined. Qualitative data from the parental report of emotional and behavioral responses to the pandemic were also obtained.

Results: Results indicate that school-aged girls with FXS demonstrate a distinct profile of COVID-19 related associations compared to the comparison group, such that pandemic-related worries and emotional impact of pandemic restrictions were predicted by prior mental health factors for the comparison group but by prior social, behavioral, and relational factors for the FXS group.

Conclusions: Findings provide insight into factors that may confer risk or resilience for youth with special needs, suggesting potential therapeutic targets and informing public health initiatives in response to the pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; intellectual disability; parent psychosocial functioning; parent–adolescent communication; school functioning; school-age children; social functioning and peers.