Anxiety, Depression In Children Jumped During Pandemic – Study

Rising rates of depression, anxiety and physical violence towards those around them, has become the tale of Children in Israel living through the COVID-19 pandemic according to a report released by an advocacy group Tuesday.

2019 to 2021, saw a 39 percent rise seen in children ages 12-17 diagnosed with depression, a 33% rise in those diagnosed with anxiety and a 20% rise in those diagnosed with stress and emotional disorders, the National Council for the Child said.

The data came from statistics provided by the Maccabi health care provider.

Officials and activists have long warned about the deleterious effects on children from forced lockdowns, quarantines and remote learning or school cancellations.

According to the report, many parents said their children who were forced to quarantine — either due to infection or exposure to COVID — exhibited signs of violence toward family and friends.

The report claimed that 16-17% of children who were forced to quarantine showed violent behavior, as did 31% of those who had to quarantine more than once.

And 59% of children who quarantined multiple times experienced outbursts of anger or rage, compared to 43% of those forced to quarantine once and 36% of those who did not quarantine, the report states.

There was a 43% jump from 2020 to 2021 in the number of students believed to be at risk for suicide who were provided treatment by Education Ministry psychologists, from 829 to 1,184.