Differences in Traumatic Stress Among Youth With and Without Chronic Medical Conditions During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic is the deadliest pandemic in American history. This study aims to assess the differences in youth reported traumatic stress among those with and without chronic illness, and how those reports are impacted by parental level of concern regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Using convenience sampling, parents and their children completed a series of questionnaires focused on demographic information including questions about medical conditions, parental level of concern about COVID-19, and youth-report of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Results: Results of the anonymous survey (n = 164) found that parental reported level of concern of COVID-19 significantly predicted youth report of posttraumatic stress symptoms (F(4, 159) = 2.607, p = .038). There was no significant difference in youth-report of posttraumatic stress symptoms between youth with and without chronic medical conditions (F(1, 162) = .438, p = .509). Conclusions: Children often look to their parents for guidance during stressful life events, as confirmed by our findings. Parental emotional and behavioral responses may influence how youth make sense of highly stressful events and should be considered when determining intervention strategies in the COVID-19 era.

Automated summary

This study examines the impact of chronic illness and parental level of concern on youth-reported traumatic stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results show that parental level of concern significantly predicts youth report of posttraumatic stress symptoms, while the presence of chronic medical conditions does not have a significant effect on youth-reported symptoms.