Abstract

Background. The present state of COVID-19 pandemic has made the society face new challenges; it has created a number of crisis situations that regard both adults and children and that need prompt clinical-psychological solutions. Psychological data concerning children and adolescents in the pandemic context are notably few.

Objectives. The analysis of how different age strata react to the situation, with special attention to how children and adolescents react to the measures introduced to prevent further spread of COVID-19. Subsequent specification of directions in which clinical-psychological approach could help to develop the corresponding medical-sanitary discourses.

Results. It was found that whenever the population reacts and fulfils the corresponding recommendations in an inefficient way it can be explained by the fact that medical-sanitary discourse is not sufficiently elaborated in clinical-psychological terms. It is shown that there is a need for further analysis and development of constructive clinical-psychological approach to informing different age groups and for completing the existing medical-sanitary discourses on the basis of constructive clinical-psychological approach. The study singles out new system characteristics of a more productive medical-psychological approach to informing the public and influencing peoples behaviour in the present situation. Thus, it is shown that the informational-psychological characteristics of the discourse in question must be: exactness, credibility, systematic nature, teleological and behaviourial meaningfulness, as well as acceptability in terms of mental hygiene. It is extremely important to take into account that different age groups, such as children and adolescents, correspondingly, should be approached in different ways when informing them about the correct behaviour in the pandemic conditions. Apart from the mental hygiene issues, one should bear in mind the developmental aspects of construing information for children and adolescents. The clinical-psychological task here is to use the development of pandemic awareness in children and adolescents as an opportunity to create a new situation of psychic development, to form an impulse that not only could prevent them from developing a number of psychic disorders but could also favour their personality growth in the circumstances they find themselves in.

Conclusion. The study singled out the directions for developing a new constructive trend in clinical-psychological studies, namely, in child and adolescent clinical psychology.