The infected and the affected: A longitudinal study of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on schoolchildren in Florida

Abstract

Objectives: To identify risk factors associated with symptoms of anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) among children during the 1st year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A longitudinal study with three cross-sectional timepoints [April 2020 (n = 273), October 2020 (n = 180), and April 2021 (n = 116)] was conducted at a K-12 public school in Florida. Infection and sero-positivity for SARS-CoV-2 was determined by molecular and serologic approaches. Adjusted odds ratios using mixed effect logistic regression models for symptom-derived indicators of anxiety, depression, and OCD in children in April 2021 are presented; past infection and seropositivity were included in the models.

Results: The prevalence of anxiety, depression, or OCD moved from 47.1, to 57.2, to 42.2% across the three timepoints during the study. By endline of the study, in April 2021, non-white children were at higher risk for depression and OCD. Risk for anxiety, depression, and OCD was associated with students who lost a family member due to COVID-19 and who were identified as at-risk in previous timepoints. Rates of SARS-CoV-2 infection and seropositivity were low and not statistically associated with assessed outcomes.

Conclusions: In situations like the COVID-19 pandemic, targeted mental health interventions and screenings are needed in children and adolescents, especially among minority children.

Keywords: COVID-19; anxiety; depression; mental health; obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD); pediatrics; school-aged children.