Posted 1 day ago,
Reading 1 min.
The objective of this study is to assess the impact of Covid on the mental health of children aged 3 to 11 years old. It begins in May and will end in June 2022.
If the effects of the pandemic on the mental health of adults have been observed, those concerning the well-being of children are still unknown. It is for this reason that Public Health France is starting a vast study with 30,000 children aged 3 to 11. The goal? Assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on their mental health and “to estimate the prevalence (number of children concerned) of the various difficulties encountered (mood disorders, anxieties, phobias, emotions, learning disabilities)”.
The study, called Enabee, is based on a sample of children attending school from the small section of kindergarten to CM2 and will take place from May to June 2022. The schools participating in this survey have been drawn by lot. In order to obtain the most accurate results, questionnaires will be distributed to children as well as to teachers and parents. The data will not be used to make a diagnosis, since the questionnaires will be anonymous.
“The health crisis has impacted the mental health of the youngest”
Learning disorders, anxiety, phobias, refusal of school… The pandemic would seem to have impacted young people and especially children. According to figures from Public Health France, the passages for suicidal gestures in the emergency room remain “at high levels” in 2022. An observation that played in the launch of this large survey.
“The health crisis has impacted the mental health of the youngest and has shown the need for action for care and prevention based on robust data. For this, it is essential to have indicators. Firstly to understand their possible difficulties and to be able to prevent them as soon as possible. Then to put in place actions to encourage health-promoting behaviors before entering adolescence and then in adult life”, noted in a press release Geneviève Chêne, Director General of Public Health France. These results will provide “indicators on the mental health of children” and “will provide an overview of the state of health of children in France”.