Schoolless life and the mental health of public school students during the Covid-19 pandemic

Abstract

The present study analyzes the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on students' mental health during part of the suspension of the in-person classes. The study is a cross-sectional survey completed between October and December 2020. An online self-report questionnaire was answered by students between 13 and 20 years of age, from the 9th grade to high school, who followed remote school activities in 21 state and municipal public schools located in the suburbs of the municipalities of São Paulo and Guarulhos. Two linear regression models were used in the analysis, considering as dependent variables the depression scores by the Child Depression Inventory and anxiety by the SCARED (Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders). The time of exposure to the screens, the inversion of sleep, and the female gender, simultaneously with the difficulties of remote education and other social markers (such as color/race and cases of Covid-19 at home), are associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety during the first wave of the Covid-19 in the metropolitan area of São Paulo. The findings reinforce the importance of school routine in the lives of these young people and the challenges posed to schools to promote students' mental health in the post-pandemic reality.