Children’s Well-Being Post the Pandemic and Amid the Economic Crisis in Lebanon

Abstract

Abstract Background: The outbreak of coronavirus in 2020 prompted schools to shift their classes from a physical learning environment to an online one to implement measures of social distancing to limit the spread of the pandemic. This disruption negatively influenced the social interaction of children and their well-being. In Lebanon, the situation was further exacerbated due to the severe economic crisis that had and still has obvious negative effects on the well-being of children. This study aims to investigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the economic crisis on the mental health of Lebanese children aged 5 to 14 years old and to assess their well-being in a post-pandemic world. Method: A quantitative research design was adopted, and the validated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to collect data. 966 responses were collected, among which 627 parental reports and 339 teacher reports. Descriptive analysis was conducted for categorical variables and continuous measures. Means were compared using the independent-sample t-test and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. Pearson correlation test was used to evaluate the association between continuous variables. And a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was conducted to compare the total SDQ difficulties score and sub-scores between the teacher and parents. Results: 34% of the study population are categorized as abnormal and 14.9% as borderline according to the SDQ score, and an expansion of mental health problems among these children is indicated. The study reveals that the most common mental health problems identified among these children are respectively conduct problems, peer, emotional, and hyperactivity problems, and prosocial problems. The main factors impacting the high rates of mental health problems among Lebanese children are gender, parental control, lack of discipline, poor-quality education background, parenting problems, low family income, physical defects among children, and the political situation of the country. Conclusion: This study highlights the necessity of promoting mental health awareness among parents and teachers and adopting intervention and prevention measures to help children in Lebanon deal with mental health challenges caused by the pandemic and the ongoing economic crisis.