Comparison of the Mental Health Status of Left-Behind Children Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Figures & data

Table 1 Comparison of Mental Health Status of Left-Behind Children in Rural Anhui Province Before and After the Epidemic (M±SD)

Subscales	During the Epidemic	After the Epidemic	t	p
Somatization	1.48±0.35	1.13±0.22	7.73	<0.001
Obsessive-compulsive	1.68±0.38	1.43±0.40	4.02	<0.001
Interpersonal sensitivity	1.61±0.50	1.44±0.41	2.40	0.017
Depression	1.47±0.41	1.25±0.32	3.75	<0.001
Anxiety	1.50±0.36	1.23±0.30	5.26	<0.001
Hostility	1.37±0.36	1.29±0.33	1.49	0.137
Phobic anxiety	1.47±0.40	1.24±0.29	4.16	<0.001
Paranoid ideation	1.49±0.45	1.18±0.29	5.26	<0.001
Psychoticism	1.39±0.37	1.29±0.31	1.91	0.058
Average scores (SCL-90)	1.49±0.26	1.27±0.25	5.58	<0.001
Total scores (SCL-90)	134.45±23.17	114.52±22.56	5.58	<0.001

Table 2 Comparison of Social Support and Self-Esteem Scores of Left-Behind Children in Rural Anhui Province Before and After the Epidemic (M±SD)

Subscales	During the Epidemic	After the Epidemic	t	p
Family support	20.98±7.16	22.25±4.73	−1.34	0.182
Friend support	19.04±4.38	21.37±4.30	−3.43	0.001
Others support	19.48±4.73	21.73±4.61	−3.09	0.002
Score of perceived social support	58.99±12.45	65.57±11.76	−3.48	0.001
Self-esteem	25.04±4.95	28.39±3.84	−4.85	<0.001

Table 3 Correlation Analysis of Mental Health, Awareness of Social Support and Self-Esteem Among Left-Behind Children in Rural Anhui Province During the Epidemic Period

Subscales	Family Support	Friend Support	Other People Support	Perceived Social Support	Self-Esteem
Somatization	0.04	−0.16	−0.20	−0.20	−001
Obsessive-compulsive	−0.13	−0.15	−0.11	−0.15	−0.42***
Interpersonal sensitivity	−0.18	−0.14	−0.19	−0.23*	−0.44***
Depression	−0.17	−0.16	−0.18	−0.21	−0.38**
Anxiety	−0.14	−0.09	−0.16	−0.14	−0.24*
Hostility	−0.18	−0.25*	−0.28*	−0.26*	−0.40**
Phobic anxiety	−0.08	−0.31**	−0.29**	−0.30**	−0.36**
Paranoid ideation	0.04	−0.11	−0.15	−0.14	−0.27*
Psychoticism	−0.17	−0.22*	−0.31**	−0.29**	−0.41***
Average scores (SCL-90)	−0.20	−0.25*	−0.31**	−0.32**	−0.50***
Total scores (SCL-90)	−0.20	−0.25*	−0.31**	−0.32**	−0.50***
Self-esteem	0.33**	0.30**	0.36**	0.40***	/

Note: ***p < 0.001; **p < 0.01; *p < 0.05.

Table 4 Correlation Analysis of Mental Health, Perceived Social Support, and Self-Esteem of Left-Behind Children in Rural Anhui Province After the Epidemic (R-Value)

Subscales	Family Support	Friend Support	Other people Support	Perceived Social Support	Self-Esteem
Somatization	−0.30**	−0.27*	−0.22	−0.46***	−0.26*
Obsessive-compulsive	−0.51***	−0.39***	−0.36**	−0.54***	−0.47***
Interpersonal sensitivity	−0.33**	−0.22*	−0.19	0.30**	−0.32**
Depression	−0.34**	−0.37**	−0.29**	−0.42***	−0.21
Anxiety	−0.51***	−0.42***	−0.40***	−0.53***	−0.20
Hostility	−0.53***	−0.37**	−0.40***	−0.46***	−0.23*
Phobic anxiety	−0.35**	−0.36**	−0.27*	−0.35**	−0.22
Paranoid ideation	−0.50**	−0.41**	−0.38**	−0.51**	−0.31**
Psychoticism	−0.35**	−0.27*	−0.21	−0.36**	−0.24*
Average scores (SCL-90)	−0.50***	−0.41***	−0.36**	−0.53***	−0.36**
Total scores (SCL-90)	−0.50***	−0.41***	−0.36**	−0.53***	−0.36**
Self-esteem	0.12	0.09	0.07	0.17	/

Note: ***p < 0.001; **p < 0.01; *p < 0.05.

Table 5 Regression Analysis of Influencing Factors of Mental Health of Rural Left-Behind Children in Anhui During the Epidemic Period

Selected Variable	Partial Regression Coefficient (b)	Standard Error (SE)	Standard Regression Coefficient (b’)	t	p	ΔR^2
Perceived social support	−0.26	0.20	−0.14	−1.34	0.183	0.25
Self-esteem	−0.207	0.49	−0.44	−0.42	<0.0001

Table 6 Regression Analysis of Influencing Factors of Mental Health of Left-Behind Children in Rural Anhui Province After the Epidemic

Selected Variable	Partial Regression Coefficient (b)	Standard Error (SE)	Standard Regression Coefficient (b’)	t	p	ΔR^2
Perceived social support	−0.93	0.18	−0.48	−5.26	<0.001	0.34
Self-esteem	−1.64	0.54	−0.28	−3.03	0.003