Mental health experts recommend screening for anxiety ages 8 and up. The pandemic has had a dramatic impact on the psyche of children.
Turn on notifications to receive updates on
The experts of mental health of the United States recommend that you submit to screening for theanxiety i children starting from 8 years of agethey also underline the importance of screening for major depressive disorder and the suicide risk in adolescents between 12 and 18 years. This is indicated by the new preliminary guidelines developed by the US Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), an independent group of specialists in prevention and primary care that develops reports for public health.
The need to update the guidelines, which you can consult by clicking on the following link, is intimately linked to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2which has had a catastrophic impact on the mental health of adults and especially on that of children, as revealed by multiple studies. Lockdownfear of contagion, interruption of recreational and sports activities, denied socializing, distance learning, economic problems and family grief caused by the virus – which to date has officially killed almost 6.2 million people – have in fact literally eroded the psychological well-being, as highlighted by the World Health Organization (WHO). It is no coincidence that mental health experts had pointed out from the start of the pandemic that one of the highest prices to pay for the virus would be a significant increase in stress, anxiety, depression e even post-traumatic stress disorder (PSTD). Conditions that are currently worsening also due to the war in Ukraine.
The data shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has literally knocked down the mental health of children. In fact, if a survey by The National Survey of Children’s Health had reported that about the8 percent of American children suffered from anxiety disorders before the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, the study “Mental Health, Suicidality, and Connectedness Among High School Students During the COVID-19 Pandemic – Adolescent Behaviors and Experiences Survey, United States, January – June 2021″ published this month by CDC found that the 37% of young people in school age he experienced mental health problems starting from March 2020. A real wave of disorders that has also overwhelmed the psychological assistance services. In children, relevant clinical cases of mental illnesses such as anxiety and depression have doubled due to the virus, according to a recent study. No wonder the deterioration in mental health has become a real one emergencyto be faced also with the preventive screenings recommended by the USPSTF from an early age.
Covid, Nature study nails the model Sweden: “Elders left to die and citizens uninformed”
“This crisis of worsening mental health in children and adolescents is inextricably linked to the stress caused by COVID-19,” wrote the authors of the new document. “We need to identify strategies to address these challenges and improve access and quality of care across the continuum of mental health promotion, prevention and treatment,” the experts added. Thanks to these screenings, in fact, it is possible to promptly identify anxiety disorders and other psychological problems and remedy them. Failure to treat can in fact have a significant impact on developmental delay, physical and behavioral problems, poor school performance, substance abuse and other risk conditions, a huge burden on the future of children.