Psychosocial and Behavioral Problems of Children and Adolescents in the Early Stage of Reopening of Schools after the Covid-19 Pandemic: A National Cross-Sectional Study in U. P.

Abstract

This study aims to explore the psychosocial and behavioral problems of children and adolescents in the early
stage of reopening schools. In this national cross-sectional study, a total of 11072 students from U.P were naturally
divided into two groups based on their schooling status: reopened schools (RS) and home schooling (HS) group.
The psychosocial and behavioral functioning were measured by Achenbach Child Behaviour Checklist (CBCL)
and compared in these two groups. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to explore the
independent predictors associated with the psychosocial and behavioral problems. Our results showed that
the students in the RS group had more adverse behaviors than that of HS group. The RS group had the higher
rates of parent-offspring conflict, prolonged homework time, increased sedentary time and sleep problems (all
p<0.001). When separate analyses were conducted in boys and girls, the RS group had the higher scores for (1)
overall behavioral problems (p=0.02 and p=0.01), internalizing (p=0.02 and p=0.02) and externalizing (p=0.02
and p=0.004) behaviors in the 6–11 age group; (2) externalizing (p=0.049 and p=0.006) behaviors in the 12–16 age
group. Multivariable regression showed parent-offspring conflict and increased sedentary time were the most
common risk factors, while physical activity and number of close friends were protective factors for behavioral
problems in RS students (p<0.01 or 0.05). The present study revealed that students’ psychosocial and behavioral
problems increased in the early stage of reopening of schools unexpectedly. These findings suggest that close
attention must be paid and holistic strategies employed in the school reopening process of post-COVID-19 period