Perception of Increased Anxiety Regarding Their Parents by Children Admitted to the Pediatrics Outpatient Clinic of a Training and Research Hospital during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objectives Since its declaration as a pandemic, coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has adversely affected public mental health. During the pandemic, children and adolescents have experienced increased anxiety and depressive symptoms. In this study, we investigated children's perceptions of anxiety about their parents during the pandemic.Materials and Methods The study sample consisted of 206 children. To measure their anxiety about their parents, questions were asked about their parents' possibility of getting COVID-19 infection. Moreover, children's knowledge about COVID-19 symptoms and precautions against COVID-19 were evaluated.Results It was found that children who have more anxiety about getting COVID-19 themselves or their parents catching the illness have more information about COVID-19 symptoms and take more precautions. In addition, there was a significant positive correlation between the total number of precautions and the total number of known symptoms of COVID-19 among children.Conclusion This study suggests that evaluating children's anxiety and perception about their parents during the current COVID-19 pandemic period and supporting necessary mental health care is important for children's mental health.