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Abstract
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Globally, suicide among children is a significant preventable public health problem, and it is the second leading cause of death among younger people aged 10-24 years.1 In India, a student dies by suicide every hour, and 28 such loss of life occurs every day.2 During this COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown, the suicidal tendency among school children is significantly rising.3,4 Since the beginning of lockdown (March-October), in Kerala, 173 children, aged 10-18 years, died by suicide.5 Similar reports from other parts of the world have also shown a significant increase in the deaths of children due to suicide during the lockdown period than the prelockdown period, claiming a 9.3%-33% rise in the number of children presenting with self-harm injuries as well.6,7 Moreover, this is often underreported and neglected from other corners, though it is a grave psychosocial and preventable issue that needs to be addressed promptly.
Though response measures to combat the virus are vital, the prolonged school closure and home confinement might have a detrimental impact on children.3 This pandemic and its response measures have led to the complete nationwide closure of educational institutions in many parts of the world, including India, affecting about 900 million students worldwide.3,8 The pandemic has caused significant psychosocial sufferings, leading to the development or exacerbation of fear, distress, anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric disorders, including extreme suicidal thoughts among school children.3,9 Nonetheless, the mental health effects of this crisis on children are an issue often neglected by families and society, leading to severe setbacks.3
Notably, it is not the figures alone, as mentioned above, but the fact of imperative mental health concerns of young people and their cry for help and support. Being at home during the lockdown is a stressful and demanding situation for several children. The lockdown and school closure also mean that children do not have school as an avenue to escape from difficult homes anymore. Importantly, many children are experiencing emotional trauma due to various psychosocial stressors such as prolonged confinement in a hostile home environment, poor communication, lack of interaction (in-person) with friends and teachers, study-related pressure, apprehensions about attending online classes, lack of appropriate facility to attend online classes, financial crisis at family, overuse of social media, and fears of contagion, and these can have traumatic and enduring detrimental effects on children...
Language: en |