Investigating the State of Anxiety Disorders in Children Aged 6-12 Years after the COVID-19 Pandemic, Gorgan City

Background and Objectives: Children were one of the vulnerable groups in society during the COVID-19 pandemic. Although children showed less severe form of the disease compared to adults, ignorance and fear of this disease lead to serious problems, such as anxiety disorder, depression, and post-traumatic stress. The purpose of this research is to investigate the state of anxiety disorders in children aged 6-12 years after the COVID-19 pandemic in Gorgan City. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted with a descriptive-analytical approach conducted on 490 patients who referred to the Taleghani Hospital clinic and two private practices of pediatricians in Gorgan. The required data for the study were collected using the standard Spence Children's Anxiety Scale. Data were analyzed in SPSS version 18 software using independent t-test and one-way analysis of variance. A significance level was considered at less than 0.05. Results: The mean age of the children was 8.72 ± 1.51 years, and 257 (52.4%) of them were boys. The mean anxiety score was 19.78 ± 12.08. The subscale of fear of physical harm (4.71±3.07) and separation anxiety (4.88±3.61) obtained the highest scores among the dimensions of anxiety disorder. Girls had a higher anxiety score than boys (P=0.001). No significant statistical relationship was observed between history of infection with COVID-19 (P=0.689) and death due to COVID-19 (P=0.176) and anxiety score. Anxiety disorders were higher in preschool children (P<0.05). There was a statistically significant relationship between the parents' education level and the father's occupation and the total anxiety score (P<0.05). There was no statistically significant relationship between mother's occupation and anxiety disorder (P=0.136). Conclusion: According to the findings, the social and cultural factors of the family have a significant role in children's anxiety; therefore, it is necessary to consider the education of parents in order to prevent children from suffering from anxiety.