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Mental health & maltreatment risk of children with special educational needs during COVID-19

Winnie W Y Tso1, Ko Ling Chan2, Tatia M C Lee3

  • 1Department of Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, LKS Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong; State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong.

Child Abuse & Neglect
|January 16, 2022
PubMed

Insights

Children with special educational needs (SEN) experienced worse mental health and increased maltreatment risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Continued support and surveillance are crucial for vulnerable children during health crises.

Area of Science:

  • Child Psychology
  • Public Health
  • Epidemiology

Background:

  • Children with special educational needs (SEN) faced heightened vulnerability during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Increased risks included poor mental wellbeing and child maltreatment.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To assess the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on the mental health of children with SEN.
  • To evaluate the associated risks of child maltreatment.

Main Methods:

  • A comparative online survey was conducted in April 2020 in Hong Kong.
  • 417 children with SEN and 25,427 typically developing (TD) children participated.
  • Mixed-effect models and regression analyses examined emotional/behavioural difficulties and parental stress; chi-square tests assessed maltreatment risk.

Main Results:

  • Children with SEN exhibited significantly lower quality of life compared to TD children (p < 0.01).
  • Physical assault rates increased during the pandemic (59.8% vs. 71.2%, p < 0.001).
  • Children with mental disorders faced a higher risk of severe physical assault (RR = 1.58, p = 0.023).

Conclusions:

  • Children with SEN demonstrated poorer mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Maltreatment risk for children with SEN escalated compared to the pre-pandemic period.
  • Ongoing surveillance for child maltreatment and continuous care are vital for SEN children during pandemics.
Abstract

Keywords:
COVID-19Child maltreatmentMental healthSpecial educational needs

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