https://greatgameindia.com/suicide-minors-lockdown
German researchers have confirmed that the number of suicide attempts increased sharply due to adverse effect of lockdown on the children’s mental health. It is the lack of in-person contact during a Covid lockdown and school closures that took a sad toll on children’s mental health.
According to the report published in the DUP Magazin this week, up to 500 minors were hospitalized after suicide attempts in Germany between early March and late May 2021, citing a yet-unpublished study from the Essen University Hospital (UK Essen).
The data from 27 children’s intensive care units across the country were analysed by researchers. They found that reported suicide attempts among children have increased fourfold during the pandemic times.
The head of the children’s unit at UK Essen, Christian Dohna-Schwake, said that school closures and continued restrictions had been especially harmful to minors already suffering from depression or anxiety disorders.
“Social contacts outside of social media have a preventive effect” against mental problems, Dohna-Schwake said, urging that schools be kept open “as long as possible.”