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COVID-19-related future anxiety is associated with the health-related quality of life in school-aged children and adolescents - A cross-sectional study
[journal article]
Abstract Background: Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, previous studies have shown that the physical as well as the mental health of children and adolescents significantly deteriorated. Future anxiety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its associations with quality of life has not previously been ex... view more
Background: Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, previous studies have shown that the physical as well as the mental health of children and adolescents significantly deteriorated. Future anxiety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its associations with quality of life has not previously been examined in school children. Methods: As part of a cross-sectional web-based survey at schools in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, two years after the outbreak of the pandemic, school children were asked about COVID-19-related future anxiety using the German epidemic-related Dark Future Scale for children (eDFS-K). Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was assessed using the self-reported KIDSCREEN-10. The eDFS-K was psychometrically analyzed (internal consistency and confirmatory factor analysis) and thereafter examined as a predictor of HRQoL in a general linear regression model. Results: A total of N = 840 8-18-year-old children and adolescents were included in the analysis. The eDFS-K demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.77), and the confirmatory factor analysis further supported the one-factor structure of the four-item scale with an acceptable model fit. Over 43% of students were found to have low HRQoL. In addition, 47% of the students sometimes to often reported COVID-19-related fears about the future. Children with COVID-19-related future anxiety had significantly lower HRQoL (B = - 0.94, p < 0.001). Other predictors of lower HRQoL were older age (B = - 0.63, p < 0.001), and female (B = - 3.12, p < 0.001) and diverse (B = - 6.82, p < 0.001) gender. Conclusion: Two years after the outbreak of the pandemic, school-aged children continue to exhibit low HRQoL, which is further exacerbated in the presence of COVID-19-related future anxiety. Intervention programs with an increased focus on mental health also addressing future anxiety should be provided.... view less
Keywords
contagious disease; epidemic; schoolchild; adolescent; quality of life; health consequences; mental health; anxiety; future
Classification
Sociology of the Youth, Sociology of Childhood
Social Psychology
Free Keywords
Corona; Covid-19; Corona-Virus; health-related quality of life (HRQL); COVID-19-related future anxiety, KIDSCREEN-10, Dark Future Scale for children; ZIS 307
Document language
English
Publication Year
2022
Page/Pages
p. 1-13
Journal
Frontiers in Public Health, 10 (2022)
DOI
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1003876
ISSN
2296-2565
Status
Published Version; peer reviewed