1 in 6 Children in Spain Depressed During Pandemic Says Save the Children Survey

According to a survey conducted by Save the Children, one in six children in Spain have felt frequently depressed due to the coronavirus crisis, with more noticeable correlations with depression and children from poorer backgrounds.

In comparison to other countries in Europe, Spain has had one of the strictest lockdowns which has lasted a little over two months and was established to curtail the rapid rate of infection of the coronavirus which has already killed almost 28,000 people in Spain.

According to a survey conducted by the Children’s charity in April, 17 per cent of children felt depressed either often or daily during lockdown and disparities were seen when looking at different economic backgrounds.

Amongst the poorer families, 32.3 per cent of children struggled to sleep whereas 30.1 per cent feared they would contract the Covid-19 disease and they also cried more – these figures are almost a third higher than what was witnessed in less vulnerable households.

The charity says that one out of every four vulnerable families has suffered a job loss or has seen their income severely reduced, creating even more tension and projecting fears of uncertainty onto the children. In some situations, families have found themselves needing to share their homes with strangers to alleviate some financial pressure especially from landlords and rent.

Andres Conde, the head of the Save the Children charity has said that “being isolated in very tiny flats with people who are not part of your family is actually a risk because these families are facing two types of stress. They’ve lost their jobs as they cannot work and they are isolated in very tiny places.”

The Spanish government has stated that they will not leave any vulnerable groups behind and have planned to pay a basic monthly income to around a million of the poorest households in the country.

Written by

Laura Kemp

Originally from UK, Laura is based in Axarquia and is a writer for the Euro Weekly News covering news and features. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com.

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