Potential effects of “social” distancing measures and school lockdown on child and adolescent mental health

Vol.:(0123456789)1 3European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry (2020) 29:739–742https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01549-wEDITORIALPotential effects of “social” distancing measures and school lockdownon child and adolescent mental healthVera Clemens1,2 · Peter Deschamps3,4 · Jörg M. Fegert2,5 · Dimitris Anagnostopoulos5,6 · Sue Bailey3,7 ·Maeve Doyle5,8 · Stephan Eliez5,9 · Anna Sofie Hansen3,10 · Johannes Hebebrand5,11 · Manon Hillegers5,12 ·Brian Jacobs 3,13 · Andreas Karwautz 5,14 · Eniko Kiss5,15 · Konstantinos Kotsis5,16 · Hojka Gregoric Kumperscak3,17 ·Milica Pejovic‑Milovancevic5,18,19 · Anne Marie Råberg Christensen5,20 · Jean‑Philippe Raynaud 5,21 ·Hannu Westerinen3,22 · Piret Visnapuu‑Bernadt3,23Published online: 23 May 2020© Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature 2020Vera Clemens, Peter Deschamps and Jörg M. Fegert drafted andorganized the paper and contributed equally.Extended author information available on the last page of the article 1 COVID-19 is also known as SARS-CoV-2.So-called “social distancing” and measures of hygiene haveproven to be effective reactions to the threat of increasingnumbers of COVID-19 cases and fatalities. However, there isno such thing as a free lunch. As medical doctors, we knowvery well that the majority of our most effective treatmentmethods unfortunately have chance of provoking severe sideeffects. In every day practice, we are used to balanced andshared decision-making based on national or internationalguidelines on an individual level together with our patientsand their families and caregivers.In the battle we are all fighting against COVID 19, atthe moment there is no balancing or shared decision-mak-ing at an individual level. Rather, at the population level,within their national borders, countries all over the worldaim to reduce contact among humans to prevent infectionwith COVID-19 1 . This has a positive effect on protectinghealth, especially for the elderly and ill people. Children,adolescents and their parents are usually at a much lowerrisk for severe illness, even if there have been rare deaths inthis age range as well. Political measures that aim to achievesocial distancing hit their age groups particularly althoughthe efficacy of school closures is of equivocal evidence [1].This calls for further reflection on the effects on their mentalhealth.