{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,25]],"date-time":"2026-06-25T06:50:24Z","timestamp":1782370224574,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":54,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"2","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,1]],"date-time":"2024-02-01T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1706745600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Limited data exists on the mental health of children in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This study aimed to fill this gap by examining the prevalence of anxiety, depression, and risk for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) among school students in post-lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 3,745 school students participated, responding to standardized tests (Mood and Feeling Questionnaire-Child Self-Report, Screen for Child Anxiety Related Disorders-Child Version, and Children\u2019s Revised Impact of Event Scale-8). Findings showed that the risk for PTSD was the most prevalent (40.6%), followed by symptoms of anxiety (23.3%), and depression (17.1%). For gender differences, symptoms of the three conditions (depression, anxiety, and PTSD) were higher in female students (9.2%) compared to male peers (7.7%) (p = 0.09). Moreover, symptoms of depression and anxiety were found to be higher among late adolescents (p&lt;0.05). Further analysis revealed that having medical problems was a positive predictor for anxiety (OR = 2.0, p&lt;0.01) and risk for PTSD (OR = 1.3, p = 0.002); similarly, witnessing the death of a close family member due to COVID-19 (OR for depression, anxiety, and PTSD = 1.7, p&lt;0.01) were positive predictors associated with PTDS, depression, and anxiety. The study concluded that post COVID-19 lockdown, symptoms of anxiety, depression, and risk for PTSD were found to be prevalent among school students in the UAE. Researchers put forward recommendations on the initiation of a national school mental health screening program, the provision of follow-up services for vulnerable students, and the integration of a mental health support system in the disaster preparedness plans.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0296479","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,1]],"date-time":"2024-02-01T13:32:55Z","timestamp":1706794375000},"page":"e0296479","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":7,"title":["Prevalence and factors associated with mental illness symptoms among school students post lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Arab Emirates: A cross-sectional national study"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9624-1391","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Nariman","family":"Ghader","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Noor","family":"AlMheiri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Asma","family":"Fikri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6393-6680","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Hira","family":"AbdulRazzak","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Hassan","family":"Saleheen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Basema","family":"Saddik","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Yousef","family":"Aljawarneh","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Heyam","family":"Dalky","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ammar","family":"Al Banna","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shammah","family":"Al Memari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Budoor","family":"Al Shehhi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shereena","family":"Al Mazrouei","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Omniyat","family":"Al Hajeri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,2,1]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0296479.ref001","first-page":"2022","volume-title":"Covid-19 continues to disrupt essential health services in 90% of countries","author":"World Health Organization","year":"2021"},{"key":"pone.0296479.ref002","volume-title":"Policy Brief: Covid-19 and the need for action on Mental Health","author":"The United Nations","year":"2020"},{"key":"pone.0296479.ref003","volume-title":"UNSDG | Policy Brief: The impact of covid-19 on children","author":"The United Nations","year":"2020"},{"issue":"1","key":"pone.0296479.ref004","article-title":"Prevalence of stress, anxiety, depression among the general population during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review and meta-analysis.","volume":"16","author":"N Salari","year":"2020","journal-title":"Glob. 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