The Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health: Psychosocial Conditions of Students with and without Special Educational Needs

Abstract

Given the pandemic-induced school lockdown in Germany in the spring of 2020, COVID-19 evidently had a negative impact on child and adolescent mental health and wellbeing. However, there is no evidence regarding the specific problems of students with special educational needs in emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) during or after the school lockdown. Thus, this study bridges the gap. A sample of 173 students across Germany was included in the analysis. The students were rated by their teachers in an online survey via a standardized teacher-report form for emotional and behavioral problems and competencies, as well as perceptions of inclusion. Several student- and teacher-level predictors were applied in a stepwise regression analysis. The results showed that the school lockdown marginally impacted E/BD, with small differences between student groups. The strongest predicting variable was students’ psychosocial situation. Hence, the psychosocial situation of students should be monitored by teachers and school psychologists to provide sufficient support during lockdown.

Keywords

• COVID-19
• lockdown
• externalizing problems
• internalizing problems
• positive school-related behavior