Confinement and children’s health: the aggravating social factor

Very quickly after the first confinement, harmful effects on the health of the children were pointed out. A new study conducted in Paris confirms the impact of this experience on the infant population as well as on pregnant women. And not surprisingly, this impact depends on the social context.

Loss of appetite, sleep and behavior disorders… The consequences of the first confinement on the physical and mental health of children are the subject of numerous studies. New work published in the Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin (BEH) confirms the deleterious effects of this experience of family confinement, by differentiating it according to family and social contexts.

Two surveys thus made it possible to analyze the effects of confinement on the maternal and child protection public * (children and pregnant women) and children in crèche ** in Paris. Factors such as the type of housing (usual individual housing or other individual housing, very social housing or not, etc.) have been taken into account in particular.

Insecurity, an aggravating factor

The authors’ observations are consistent with the studies carried out so far: the effects of confinement are conditioned by the social and family context. The more families live in difficult conditions, the worse the consequences. So, “The families of the survey conducted in nurseries experienced confinement in better conditions (more spacious housing, more frequent presence of the spouse) than those of the PMI survey”, they observe. So, “At least 20% of the parents in the nursery survey and 25% of the parents of PMI declared a negative impact of the first confinement on the studied indicators of children’s health. “

These indicators include increased time spent in front of screens, changes in appetite and sleep disturbances. And no surprise “The frequency of certain negative indicators was higher for families in very social housing, such as the appearance of sleep disorders or difficulties in the relationship with the child. “

As for pregnant women, 68.8% said they were “particularly worried” during this period. Among the causes of this concern, the cancellation of health benefits related to pregnancy monitoring for 29.5% of them.

* by self-questionnaire to the public in October 2020
** by computer in November 2020

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