Psychological impact of home isolation on children aged 6-14 years during the COVID-19 pandemic in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia 2020

Khalil Abu Jamileh; Ibrahim Al Hariri; Mohammad R. Ali; Nasrin S. Saiyed; Ibrahim M. Farouk; Khalid H. Makki; Nehal A. Al Salami; Seham S. Aly; Mustafa Al Toonisi; Menahi Al Subaie

doi:10.15537/smj.2021.42.10.20210091

Article Figures & Data

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Table 1

- Sociodemographic of the study participants (N=361).

Sociodemographic	n	(%)
Age of the child (years)
6-8	164	(45.4)
9-11	132	(36.6)
12-14	65	(18.0)
Mean ± SD (years)	9.06 ± 2.43
Gender of the child
Male	185	(51.2)
Female	176	(48.8)
Parent’s highest education
No schooling	5	(1.4)
Primary school	25	(6.9)
Intermediate school	77	(21.3)
College/University	254	(70.4)
Parent’s employment status
Unemployed	26	(7.2)
Full-time work	208	(57.6)
Part-time work	100	(27.7)
Retired	27	(7.5)
Parent’s employment sector
Government	306	(84.8)
Non-government	55	(15.2)
One of parents works as medical staff
Yes	107	(29.6)
No	254	(70.4)
Parent’s occupation
Doctor	54	(15.0)
Nursing staff	25	(6.9)
Other medical staff	21	(5.8)
Technical staff	7	(1.9)
Non-medical staff	254	(70.4)
Monthly family income (SAR)
<3,000	19	(5.3)
3,000-5,000	46	(12.7)
6,000-10,000	153	(42.4)
11,000-20,000	119	(33.0)
>20,000	24	(6.6)
Total no. of family members
<3 members	8	(2.2)
3 members	22	(6.1)
4 members	70	(19.4)
5 or more members	261	(72.3)
No. of rooms in the house
<3 rooms	12	(3.3)
3 rooms	69	(19.1)
4 rooms	115	(31.9)
5 or more	165	(45.7)
Play area outside the house
Yes	229	(63.4)
No	132	(36.6)

*Not primary outcomes. SAR: Saudi Riyals

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Table 2

- Psychological impact of home isolation on the feelings of the children (N=361).

Questions	Yes	No	Don’t know	Total
1. Do you think that COVID-19 is a very serious disease?	284 (78.6)	67 (18.6)	10 (2.8)	361(100)
2. Are you worried that you may catch COVID-19 virus?	267 (73.9)	79 (21.9)	15 (4.2)	361(100)
3. Are you worried that your friends and family may catch COVID-19 virus?	320 (88.6)	30 (8.3)	11 (3.0)	361(100)
4. Are you afraid to leave the house right now?	208 (57.6)	145 (40.2)	8 (2.2)	361(100)
5. Are you worried you might transmit the infection to someone else?	262 (72.6)	92 (25.5)	7 (1.9)	361(100)
6. Are you worried you will not have enough food and other essential items during the pandemic?	95 (26.3)	260 (72.0)	6 (1.7)	361(100)
7. Are you sharing your worries and emotions with your family members?	279 (77.2)	67 (18.6)	15 (4.2)	361(100)
8. Are you suffering from not leaving your house and staying at home?	271 (75.1)	81 (22.4)	9 (2.5)	361(100)
9. Are you unhappy because of not seeing and meeting your friends?	281 (77.8)	65 (18.0)	15 (4.2)	361(100)
10. Are you nervous because of your parents’ worries?	108 (29.9)	241 (66.8)	12 (3.3)	361(100)
11. Do you feel ignored or neglected?	140 (38.8)	213 (59.0)	8 (2.2)	361(100)
12. Do you feel lonely or bored?	263 (72.9)	82 (22.7)	16 (4.4)	361(100)
13. Do you feel isolated from others?	234 (64.8)	114 (31.6)	13 (3.6)	361(100)
14. Do you feel home isolation is good?	172 (47.6)	175 (48.5)	14 (3.9)	361(100)
15. Do you feel normal during the COVID-19 pandemic?	114 (31.6)	241 (66.7)	6 (1.7)	361(100)

Values are presented as number and percentage (%)

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Table 3

- Psychological impact of home isolation about behaviors of the children (N=361)

Behaviors	Yes	No	Don’t know	Total
1. Are you following the recommendations to protect yourself from COVID-19?	348 (96.4)	4 (1.1)	9 (2.5)	361 (100)
2. Do you sleep well?	324 (89.7)	31 (8.6)	6 (1.7)	361 (100)
3. Do you eat well?	323 (89.5)	30 (8.3)	8 (2.2)	361 (100)
4. Are you afraid of germs and not want to touch things?	280 (77.6)	64 (17.7)	17 (4.7)	361 (100)
5. Are you punished by your parents because of not obeying their orders?	243 (67.3)	105 (29.1)	13 (3.6)	361 (100)
6. Do you play games with your parents?	282 (78.1)	72 (19.9)	7 (1.9)	361 (100)

Values are presented as number and percentage (%)

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Table 4
- Comparison of varying degrees of psychological impact of home isolation on the feelings and behaviors of children during the pandemic (N=361).
Categories Feelingsn (%) Behaviors n (%)
Normal 3 (0.8) 61 (16.9)
Mild 38 (10.5) 270 (74.8)
Moderate 171 (47.4) 28 (7.8)
Severe 149 (41.3) 2 (0.6)

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Table 5

- Multinomial logistic regression model differentiating the mild, moderate and severe psychological impact of home isolation on feelings and behaviors.

Variables	Feelings			Behaviors
Variables	Mild OR (95% CI)	Moderate OR (95% CI)	Severe OR (95% CI)	Mild OR (95% CI)	Moderate OR (95% CI)	Severe OR (95% CI)
Age (years)
6-8	Reference
9-11	1.85 (0.43, 3.65)^†	1.30 (0.43, 3.92)^*	0.96 (0.46, 1.74)	1.58 (0.10, 6.12)^*	2.43 (0.11, 7.85)^†	6.41 (2.34, 18.95)^†
12-14	1.48 (0.23, 3.03)^†	1.99 (0.269, 3.37)^*	3.77 (0.93, 7.86)^*	2.04 (1.33, 7.29)^*	7.24 (1.35, 16.18)†	4.10 (1.29, 10.16)^*
Gender
Female	Reference
Male	1.69 (0.67, 3.11)^*	1.77 (0.68, 4.60)	2.38 (0.67, 6.43)^*	1.48 (0.10, 4.12)^*	2.54 (0.11, 7.85)^*	3.50 (0.42, 6.00)^*
High income family
Yes	Reference
No	2.72 (0.96, 5.98)^†	0.57 (0.22, 1.47)	1.87 (0.42, 2.82)^*	1.67 (0.37, 6.14)^*	2.87 (0.22, 8.59)^*	1.76 (1.14, 8.52)^*
Big Family
Yes	Reference
No	0.85 (0.47, 1.55)	0.73 (0.22, 2.42)	0.27 (0.04, 1.62)	1.75 (0.50, 4.08)	1.37 (0.10, 3.45)	1.58 (0.12, 5.19)
Big House
Yes	Reference
No	1.11 (0.57, 2.18)^*	1.83 (0.67, 5.01)^*	2.24 (0.50, 6.64)^*	3.91 (1.78, 9.60)^*	6.60 (4.11, 10.59)^†	5.90 (1.48, 11.32)^*
Play area outside the house
Yes	Reference
No	1.24 (0.66, 2.31)^*	2.08 (0.78, 5.53)^*	0.98 (0.43, 1.78)	1.26 (0.09, 4.54)^*	1.36(0.11, 5.18)^*	2.29 (0.19, 8.20)^*

↵* p-value <0.05,
↵^† p-value <0.01, OR: odds rario, CI: confidence interval