A Thematic Content Analysis of the Impact of Covid-19 Related Anxiety on the Observed Frequency and Severity of Tics in Children

Wells-Green, Landon

A Thematic Content Analysis of the Impact of Covid-19 Related Anxiety on the Observed Frequency and Severity of Tics in Children

Persistent URL

https://dspace.allegheny.edu/handle/10456/56902

Author(s)

Wells-Green, Landon

Date Issued

April 5, 2023

Abstract

Tics can be a disruptive and uncontrollable physical occurrence in individuals that can be exacerbated by a variety of factors. Prior research suggests that tics are often associated with anxiety, potentially causing tension in the muscle groups in which the ticking motion or impulse occurs, as well as sometimes being worsened by environmental factors such as anxiety brought on by the pandemic (Lewin et al., 2011; Mataix-Cols et al., 2020; Caurín et al., 2014). The qualitative content analysis that was performed in the present study utilized a thematic analysis to identify themes in two selected Facebook groups regarding parental perception of the impact of COVID-19 related anxiety on the observed frequency and severity of tics in children. The study obtained one-hundred fifty-five (155) posts matching the inclusion criteria, which stipulated that posts must make mention of anxiety, COVID-19, lockdown, or the pandemic related to the child’s tic frequency or severity, while posts involving children older than eighteen years of age were not considered, as most tic disorders begin between the age of six and eighteen. It was hypothesized that parents will report that their children experienced an increase in frequency and severity of tics during the pandemic from March 1st, 2020, to March 31st, 2021, and that anxiety brought on by factors related to the pandemic contributed to the increase and severity of these tics. The themes identified in this study indicated that parents had observed an increase in frequency and severity of tics in their children over the beginning of the pandemic, and some even saw their children develop tics or tic-like symptoms despite having no prior incidences of tics. Implications include the importance of establishing better education for parents on how their children’s tics may be impacted by factors relating to anxiety, as well as preparing medical professionals for a possible influx of children presenting tics or tic-like symptoms in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Major

Psychology

First Reader(s)

Pickering, Ryan