AUTHOR=Kästner Anika , Lücker Petra , Hannich Arne , Schmeyers Lena , Lücker Janny , Hoffmann Wolfgang 

TITLE=COVID-19-related future anxiety is associated with the health-related quality of life in school-aged children and adolescents—A cross-sectional study

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2022.1003876

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2022.1003876

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Background</title><p>Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, previous studies have shown that the physical as well as the mental health of children and adolescents significantly deteriorated. Future anxiety caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its associations with quality of life has not previously been examined in school children.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>As part of a cross-sectional web-based survey at schools in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, two years after the outbreak of the pandemic, school children were asked about COVID-19-related future anxiety using the German epidemic-related Dark Future Scale for children (eDFS-K). Health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was assessed using the self-reported KIDSCREEN-10. The eDFS-K was psychometrically analyzed (internal consistency and confirmatory factor analysis) and thereafter examined as a predictor of HRQoL in a general linear regression model.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>A total of <italic>N</italic> = 840 8–18-year-old children and adolescents were included in the analysis. The eDFS-K demonstrated adequate internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's α = 0.77), and the confirmatory factor analysis further supported the one-factor structure of the four-item scale with an acceptable model fit. Over 43% of students were found to have low HRQoL. In addition, 47% of the students sometimes to often reported COVID-19-related fears about the future. Children with COVID-19-related future anxiety had significantly lower HRQoL (<italic>B</italic> = – 0.94, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001). Other predictors of lower HRQoL were older age (<italic>B</italic> = – 0.63, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001), and female (<italic>B</italic> = – 3.12, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) and diverse (<italic>B</italic> = – 6.82, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001) gender.</p></sec><sec><title>Conclusion</title><p>Two years after the outbreak of the pandemic, school-aged children continue to exhibit low HRQoL, which is further exacerbated in the presence of COVID-19-related future anxiety. Intervention programs with an increased focus on mental health also addressing future anxiety should be provided.</p></sec>