2.89 Impact of School Changes During the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children and Adolescents With Psychiatric Disorders: Comparing Online Learning and Return to In-Person Learning

Objectives

There remains a knowledge gap to learn the extent to which pandemic-related school changes impacted students with psychiatric disorders, and whether the return to in-person school reversed any of these difficulties or created new issues.

Methods

A within-subject, retrospective review of medical records was conducted on individuals who were treated at the UCLA Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry during the pandemic. From February to June 2022, a questionnaire was given to the subjects to gather data comparing student experiences during online learning and after returning to in-person learning (n = 53; ages 2-18 years). A 2-tailed, unequal variance t test was used for statistical analysis.

Results

Among the subjects, 46% reported being impacted by the lack of school resources and support during online learning, with this number lowering to 20% after returning to in-person school (p = .003). Among the subjects, 72% reported having difficulties with learning during online school, whereas only 44% reported this after returning to in-person school (p = .002). During online learning, 83% reported being more distractible, compared to 58% reporting this after returning to in-person learning (p = .002). In addition, 58% reported having technological difficulties during online learning, with this number being lowered to 21% during in-person learning (p = .0001). Lastly, 46% reported having a negative social experience during online learning, and 79% reported having a negative social experience after returning to in-person learning (p = 9.2 x 10^-4).

Conclusions

Online school was challenging for students due to the changes in curriculum, social interaction, and learning environment. The return to in-person school resolved many of these issues, but it also created new problems. Among the participating students, 80% reported an increase in social anxiety after returning to school, and almost 50% of the participants reported feeling unsafe during in-person school. Subjectively, all of the positive comments about returning to school are related to increased social interactions, better learning environments, and more structured routines. However, the negative comments are related to bullying, social anxiety, and COVID-19 exposure.

SAC, RCR, EDUC