The COVID-19 pandemic poses an acute threat to the well-being of children and families due to challenges related to social disruption such as financial insecurity, caregiving burden, and confinement-related stress (e.g., crowding, changes to structure, and routine). The consequences of these difficulties are likely to be longstanding, in part because of the ways in which contextual risk permeates the structures and processes of family systems. The current article draws from pertinent literature across topic areas of acute crises and long-term, cumulative risk to illustrate the multitude of ways in which the well-being of children and families may be at risk during COVID-19. The presented conceptual framework is based on systemic models of human development and family functioning and links social disruption due to COVID-19 to child adjustment through a cascading process involving caregiver well-being and family processes (i.e., organization, communication, and beliefs). An illustration of the centrality of family processes in buffering against risk in the context of COVID-19, as well as promoting resilience through shared family beliefs and close relationships, is provided. Finally, clinical and research implications are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Risk and resilience in family well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

How mental health care should change as a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Family violence refers to threatening or other violent behaviour within families that may be physical, sexual, psychological, or economic, and can include child abuse and intimate partner violence (Peterman et al. 2020, van Gelder et al. 2020). Family violence during pandemics is associated with a range of factors including economic stress, disaster-related instability, increased exposure to exploitative relationships, and reduced options for support (Peterman et al. 2020). Due to the social isolation measures implemented across the globe to help reduce the spread of COVID-19, people living in volatile situations of family violence are restricted to their homes. Social isolation exacerbates personal and collective vulnerabilities while limiting accessible and familiar support options (van Gelder et al. 2020). In many countries, including Australia, we have already seen an increase in demand for domestic violence services and reports of increased risk for children not attending schools (Duncan, 2020); a pattern similar to previous episodes of social isolation associated with epidemics and pandemics (Boddy, Young & O'Leary 2020).

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/inm.12735

Family violence and COVID-19: Increased vulnerability and reduced options for support.

Covid-19 has caused significant distress around the globe Apart from the evident physical symptoms in infected cases, it has caused serious damage to public mental health India, like other countries, implemented a nationwide lockdown to contain and curb the transmission of the virus The current research is an attempt to explore psychological distress among people residing in India during the lockdown Four hundred and three participants were asked to complete a questionnaire with questions around symptoms of depression, anxiety, stress, and family affluence The results indicated that people who do not have enough supplies to sustain the lockdown were most affected, and family affluence was found to be negatively correlated with stress, anxiety, and depression Among different professions, students and healthcare professionals were found to experience stress, anxiety, and depression more than others Despite the current situation, stress, anxiety, and depression were found to be in normal ranges for mental health professionals highlighting their capabilities to remain normal in times of distress Policymakers and other authorities may take the assistance of mental health professionals to help overcome psychological issues related to Covid-19

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Depression, Anxiety and Stress Among Indians in Times of Covid-19 Lockdown.

Although medical literature shows that children are minimally susceptible to 2019-Corona virus disease (COVID-19), they are hit the hardest by psychosocial impact of this pandemic. Being quarantined in homes and institutions may impose greater psychological burden than the physical sufferings caused by the virus. School closure, lack of outdoor activity, aberrant dietary and sleeping habits are likely to disrupt children's usual lifestyle and can potentially promote monotony, distress, impatience, annoyance and varied neuropsychiatric manifestations. Incidences of domestic violence, child abuse, adulterated online contents are on the rise. Children of single parent and frontline workers suffer unique problems. The children from marginalized communities are particularly susceptible to the infection and may suffer from extended ill-consequences of this pandemic, such as child labor, child trafficking, child marriage, sexual exploitation and death etc. Parents, pediatricians, psychologists, social workers, hospital authorities, government and non-governmental organizations have important roles to play to mitigate the psychosocial ill-effects of COVID-19 on children and adolescents. To provide the basic amenities, social security, medical care, and to minimize the educational inequities among the children of the different strata of the society are foremost priorities.

Impact of COVID -19 on children: special focus on the psychosocial aspect.

The newly identified novel coronavirus, COVID-19, was first reported in Wuhan, China, in late 2019. The COVID-19 virus is now known to belong to the same family as SARS and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV), which are zoonotic infections thought to have originated from snakes, bats, and pangolins at the Wuhan wet markets (Ji et al. 2020). The virus has rapidly spread across the globe leading to many infected people and multiple deaths (Wang et al. 2020); especially of the elderly and vulnerable (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2020). While efforts to control and limit the spread of the pandemic in the community are quite straight forward to follow, it seems that prejudice and fear have jeopardized the response efforts (Ren et al. 2020). In fact, the COVID-19 pandemic has already unleashed panic, as evidenced by the empty toilet paper shelves in stores, resulted in accusations against people of Asian races (Malta et al. 2020), and impacted people’s decisions to seek help when early symptoms arise (Ren et al. 2020). In this editorial, we discuss the issues related to the occurrence of fear, panic, and discrimination, analyse the causes of these phenomena, and identify practical solutions for addressing mental health issues related to this pandemic for both public and healthcare professionals. People tend to feel anxious and unsafe when the environment changes. In the case of infectious disease outbreaks, when the cause or progression of the disease and outcomes are unclear, rumours grow and closeminded attitudes eventuate (Ren et al. 2020). We know that the level of anxiety rose significantly when the SARS outbreak occurred. For example, in Hong Kong, about 70% of people expressed anxiety about getting SARS and people reported they believed they were more likely to contract SARS than the common cold (Cheng & Cheung 2005). Anxiety and fear related to infection can lead to acts of discrimination. People from Wuhan were targeted and blamed for the COVID-19 outbreak by other Chinese people and Chinese people have since been stigmatized internationally, for example, use of the term ‘China virus’ and the use of terms such as ‘Wuhan virus’ and the ‘New Yellow Peril’ by the media (Ren et al. 2020). Fear is a known (for centuries and in response to previous infectious outbreaks such as the plague), yet common response to infectious outbreaks and people react in many and individualized ways towards the perceived threat. Hypervigilance, for example, can arise because of fear and anxiety and, in severe cases, result in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and/or depression (Perrin et al. 2009). Fear of the unknown, in this case, the spread of the disease and the impact on people, health, hospitals, and economies, for example, raises anxiety in healthy individuals as well as those with pre-existing mental health conditions (Rubin & Wessely 2020). Individuals, families, and communities experience feelings of hopelessness, despair, grief, bereavement, and a profound loss of purpose because of pandemics (Levin 2019). Feelings of loss of control drive fear and uncertainty as the trajectory of the pandemics is constantly evolving; so is the advice on the action to take to stop the spread of a pandemic. Perceived mixed messaging from government or health officials can also lead to public confusion, uncertainty, and fear (Han, Zikmund-Fisher et al. 2018). People’s responses to fear and intolerance of uncertainty lead to negative societal behaviours (Rubin & Wessely 2020). Uncertainty increases feelings of alarm resulting in behaviours targeted at reducing uncontrollable situations which people fear. For example, we have seen people clearing shelves of supermarkets resulting in global shortages of food and essentials such as toilet paper (El-Terk 2020). This behaviour is purported to occur for two reasons: one because the threat of COVID-19 is perceived as a ‘real’ threat and expected to last for some time and second as a means to regain control (El-Terk 2020). While outright panic as a result of this pandemic is unlikely, it can occur as a consequence of mass quarantine (Rubin & Wessely 2020). The current state of the COVID-19 illness already paints a picture of inevitable and large-scale quarantine – some of which are already occurring. In the case of mass quarantine, experiencing social isolation and an inability to tolerate distress escalate anxiety and fear of being trapped and loss of control, and the spread of rumours (Rubin & Wessely

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/inm.12726

The COVID-19 pandemic and mental health impacts.

Eco-anxiety is the distress caused by climate change where people are becoming anxious about their future. The present scoping reveiw critically evaluated and synthesized the scholarly literature on eco-anxiety and reported it using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses for scoping reviews (PRISMA-ScR) [1] . The study aims were twofold: (i) to understand how eco-anxiety was operationalized in the existing literature, and (ii) the key characteristics of eco-anxiety. Our review found that further research is needed to provide conceptual clarity of the term eco-anxiety. We found that most of the evidence comes from the Western countries, and future research is needed in the non-Western countries. Indigenous peoples, children and young people, and those connected to the natural world are most impacted by eco-anxiety and are identified as vulnerable. We recommend employing diverse methodologies to better understand their lived experiences of eco-anxiety.

/pdf/understanding-eco-anxiety-a-systematic-scoping-review-of-1wah2lucx4.pdf

Understanding Eco-anxiety: A Systematic Scoping Review of Current Literature and Identified Knowledge Gaps

COVID-19 spread rapidly causing widescale loss of life and economic devastation. Efforts to contain it have resulted in measures such as closing of borders and restrictions around travel, social activities and attending places of worship. We conducted this rapid review to systematically examine, synthesize, and critically appraise the available evidence on the relationship between pandemic-related behaviours and psychological outcomes. The methods were compliant with the PRISMA guidelines. The review was preregistered with PROSPERO (Registration #: CRD42020181576). A literature search was conducted from January 2010 to April 2020 using ProQuest, Web of Science, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES, Scopus, SAGE Journals, and CINAHL. Of 3844 articles identified, we included 11 quantitative articles in the final synthesis, representing data from 32, 049 individual respondents from eight countries. We identified three pandemics (COVID-19, MERS-CoV, Influenza A(H1N1) pdm09) as well as several psychological outcomes including anxiety, mental distress, post-traumatic stress disorder, and anger. We also identified several behaviours during pandemics and categorized them into protective, preparedness, and perverse behaviours. The review showed that even though there is limited evidence regarding pandemic-related behaviours and psychological outcomes, the current findings showed that the psychological outcomes significantly impacted on the adoption of the pandemic-related behaviours. Given the negative effects of psychological outcomes on behaviours, we recommend that mental health professionals should promote mental health support to people exhibiting psychological distress resulting from similar events in the future. Also, we recommend that future research should test the hypothesized effects of pandemics and psychological outcomes on behaviour change.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/inm.12790

Pandemic-related behaviours and psychological outcomes; A rapid literature review to explain COVID-19 behaviours.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/inm.12673

Joanne Durkin

Papers

Family violence and COVID-19: Increased vulnerability and reduced options for support.

The COVID-19 pandemic and mental health impacts.

Understanding Eco-anxiety: A Systematic Scoping Review of Current Literature and Identified Knowledge Gaps

Pandemic-related behaviours and psychological outcomes; A rapid literature review to explain COVID-19 behaviours.

Eco-anxiety: How thinking about climate change-related environmental decline is affecting our mental health