Introduction
This article plays a valuable role in studying my topic, which is the influence of coronavirus on children’s mental health. In their report, Phelps and Sperry (2020) discuss an extremely important but underestimated issue and try to draw people’s attention to it. A vast number of factors may harm kids and teenagers because their psyche is not entirely stable yet, and their reactions to external stimuli are increased. Moreover, the level of crimes against children, including maltreatment and physical abuse, is relatively high. This, in turn, leads to the fact that more than 90% of urban and 67% of rural youth necessarily experience at least one traumatic event before reaching the age of eighteen (Phelps & Sperry, 2020, p. S73). Since COVID-19 is a highly stressful event for both adults and teenagers, the article’s authors aim at determining to which extent parents’ reactions to the coronavirus pandemic affect their children. More importantly, Phelps and Sperry (2020) explore the role of schools in supporting students during such a challenging time.
Methods and Results
To address the article’s objectives and draw a specific conclusion, the authors gather the necessary data and analyze it. To begin with, the data collection method used for this study is mixed. In other words, the researchers use a combination of secondary data analysis (literature review) and nonparticipant observation. This combination allows Phelps and Sperry (2020) to gain a more accurate understanding of the relationships between the phenomena under study.
Thus, when conducting a literature review consisting of an extended number of scholarly and relevant sources, the researchers get a comprehensive overview of the problem. It means that different resources allow them to assess children’s traumatized mental health from different perspectives and finally find out what role closed school districts and parents’ behaviors play in promoting this problem. As a result, Phelps and Sperry (2020) notice that “during the 2009 swine flu pandemic, … parents who were fearful of the swine flu transmitted this threat information to their children, which caused the children to be fearful of the disease” (p. S74). The same happens to modern teenagers who see their guardians being scared of COVID-19. Furthermore, when not enough support from parents and schools, students “may experience a severe mental health crisis” (Phelps & Sperry, 2020, p. S74).
The second research method is nonparticipant observation, and it allows the authors to assess the current situation and draw conclusions. Thus, they notice that school districts’ “closures are unfortunate because, for many students, schools are their only source of trauma-informed care and support” (p. S73). During the lockdown, many students were forced to study online and probably stay in an unsafe environment without any possibility to receive support from educators. Consequently, the COVID-19 pandemic has significantly contributed to the existing problem. Now schools need to unite their efforts with the government and families to provide children with population-based mental services before and after traditional classroom education continues. This is the result that the authors report after conducting secondary data analysis and nonparticipant observation.
Reflection
This article’s value is significantly high as it provides essential information about those influences of the coronavirus pandemic and school districts’ closures that most people are unaware of. This research’s results are also relevant to the study of child development. The insights related to the adverse impact of panicking parents and no access to schools as a source of care and support make it easier to gain an understanding of challenging processes of child development and help be more careful with them.
Reference
Phelps, C., & Sperry, L. L. (2020). Children and the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 12(S1), S73–S75.