Title: Examining identifiable factors associated with the mental health status of children both pre and post the covid-19 pandemic
Abstract:
I dentifying the current factors associated with many mental disorders and conditions that begin early in life, is an initiative that is now underway worldwide. This study will explore the relationship between identifiable risk factors and the mental health status of American children prior to, and after beginning of the current COVID 19 pandemic, using a large national random sample (N = 600,000) which will include girls (n = 300,000) and boys (n = 300,000) between the ages of 10 to 18. This study will determine if the factors of social isolation, non-school attendance, domestic violence, child abuse, substance abuse, drug abuse, household income, disease prevalence, healthcare quality, ethnicity, and gender, are significantly associated with children’s mental health disorders in America. The relevant mental health disorders which will be examined in this study include: Attention-deficit, conduct, and disruptive behavior disorders (ADHD), Mood Disorders, Schizophrenia, Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), Depression, Mental Diseases, Psychoses, and Suicide. Implications for training medical and mental health personnel, and outreach initiatives to improve the mental health status children in America and around the world will be discussed. Currently in the United States, child abuse rates are now up 27.3% during COVID-19 lockdowns (Primary Care, 2021). Domestic violence rates have increased by nearly 30% from 2020. Intimate Partner Domestic Violence (IPDV) rates have increase in domestic violence call volume as high as 27% after stay-at-home orders were implemented (American Family Physician, 2021). Additionally, homicide rates are now up 30% from 2020 in American Cities (Stebbins, 2021). Take Away Notes: • The audience will be presented with Current data and information on specific identifiable risk factors which may be associated with children’s mental health disorders before and during the current COVID 19 pandemic. • The audience will learn of Appropriate research designs, methods, and quantitative analyses measures which may be applied to measures factors associated with children’s health outcomes at the national level. • The audience will learn about Possible preventive and intervention strategies which may be applied to reduce the prevalence rates for children’s mental health outcomes, specifically during the COVID 19 pandemic.
