ArticleChild and adolescent psychiatry and mental health2023
Immediate and longer-term changes in mental health of children with parent-child separation experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Article in Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 8 citations in OpenAlex.
- Adverse childhood experiences and suicidality in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ global health · 2025Pooled it
- Deep learning-based classification of student GPA integrating psychological and family factors in the post-pandemic era.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Child and adolescent mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic: an overview of key findings from a thematic series.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2025Review
- Mediating effects of insomnia and resilience on COVID-19-related post-traumatic stress disorder and quality of life in adolescents.Scientific reports · 2024Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been understudied among vulnerable populations. This study aimed to examine the immediate and longer-term changes in the mental health of children with parent-child separation experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, and identify potential buffering opportunities for mental health.
methodsThis longitudinal cohort study used data from 723 rural Chinese children who provided data before (Oct. 2019) the COVID-19 pandemic and during the following 2 years. Changes in the probability of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, non-suicide self-injurious (NSSI), suicidal ideation, suicide plan, and suicide attempt were tested across four waves using generalized estimating models (GEE).
resultsCompared with children who never experienced parent-child separation, children persistently separated from parents since birth experienced greater deterioration in all mental health in the 2-year follow-up (average change: depressive symptoms: β = 0.59, 95% CI [0.26, 0.93]; anxiety symptoms: β = 0.45, 95% CI [0.10, 0.81]; NSSI: β = 0.66, 95% CI [0.31, 1.01]; suicide ideation: β = 0.67, 95% CI [0.38, 0.96]; suicide plan: β = 0.77, 95% CI [0.38, 1.15]; suicide attempt: β = 1.12, 95% CI [0.63, 1.62]). However, children with childhood separation from their parents but reunited with them during the transition to adolescence showed similar even lower changes to counterparts who never experienced parent-child separation (all ps > 0.05).
conclusionThese results indicating improvements in supportiveness of the caregiving environment during the transition to adolescence may provide the opportunity to buffer the adverse impact of COVID-19 on mental health. Translating such knowledge to inform intervention and prevention strategies for youths exposed to adversity is a critical goal for the field.
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