Statistical Evaluation of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Levels Among Children in Kerala During Lockdown

The COVID-19 pandemic caused a strong impact on the young population in Kerala with increased cases of depressive, anxious and stress-related conditions. The objective of the current exploration was to determine the mental health condition of children between the ages of 5 and 15 years in the state during the strict lockdown that was in place between April and June 2021. In this direction, a cross-sectional online survey with the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21), which is reasonably adjusted to the assessment of pediatric respondents, was conducted, and about 400 answers were gained by parents and guardians 383 responses taken for this study. One-way analysis of variance conducted on STATA -13 was used to explain the main trends and determine the statistical significance. The DASS-21 results analysis showed that the test group of participants had moderate means on such indicators as depression (M = 9.85), anxiety (M = 9.19), and stress (M = 9.18). According to ANOVA, the statistically significant value of residential area was not revealed in relation to child depression (p=0.783), anxiety (p=0.471) and stress (p=0.130). The level of psychological distress was not higher in rural households than in semi-urban or urban households, and hence, the residential location did not have effects on the mental-health outcomes of participants. According to the data the mild stress was observed in 4 children only (1.04%), and no moderate, severe, or extremely severe stress symptoms were found. The general results were that 98.95% of the sample was in the normal stress range, meaning that children had emotional and mental symptoms (depression and anxiety), but responses of physiological stress were much rarer. Regardless of the levels of distress, the proportion of respondents who had used professional help was only 10%, which highlights a dire need to have stigma reduction efforts and policy-level interventions. The results defined salient correlations between demographic factors, namely, educational level, pre-existing mental health history, and levels of severity with the emotional wellbeing of the children.