(Matt Robinson/ Vancouver Sun) — Children in B.C. have borne social, educational and economic costs from the COVID-19 pandemic and they will also face its mental health consequences.
That is among the key messages in a new report intended to help policy-makers support kids during the pandemic and beyond.
The study was produced by Simon Fraser University’s Children’s Health Policy Centre and it was funded by B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth.
Anxiety, depression, behaviour problems and post-traumatic stress “may be significantly increased during the pandemic and in its aftermath, by as much as tenfold for the children who are most severely affected,” according to the report.
It found a high need for mental health supports in the short to medium term.