Psychological impact of lockdown on adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

More than half the world is under lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic. India has been under the first phase of countrywide lockdown from 24th March 2020 to 3rd May, 2020. This cross-sectional, observational study done during this period is an attempt to evaluate the psychological effect of the lockdown on urban adolescents along with the factors that are helping them to cope.  A structured questionnaire including 22 questions was developed by using Google forms and was answered online by the participants. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 21.0. Categorical variables were presented in number and percentages. Qualitative variables were compared using Chi-Square test. A p value of <0.05 was considered significant. 48.8% of respondents acknowledged enjoying online classes while a huge 91.3% admitted missing school.  Daily total screen time was however increased to greater than 4 hours for 33.1%. There was statistically significant difference in things missed by different age groups (p <0.005) and sexes (p<.001). A resounding 70.9% admitted to an altered sleep pattern whereas eating pattern remained the same in 47.9%. 58.5% had cordial relations with their family members. Anxiety was most perceived by the 17-19 years group (p=0.001). When asked what they were most worried about, 36.2% were concerned about ‘the future of the world being changed.’ Music was the most opted coping technique (49.1%). This study provides invaluable information on the initial psychological response of adolescents while dealing with one of the most consequential crisis situations in the world which is still on going at the time of preparing this manuscript.