Adolescent well-being amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Are girls struggling more than boys?

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

Differential effects of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) pandemic and associated public restrictions on adolescent girls and boys are emerging but have not been elucidated. This study examined gender differences across broad indicators of adolescent well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic in Iceland, and explored potential explanations for these differences.

Related collections

Most cited references 44

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: found

Is Open Access

Challenges and burden of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for child and adolescent mental health: a narrative review to highlight clinical and research needs in the acute phase and the long return to normality

Jörg Fegert, Benedetto Vitiello, Paul L. Plener … (2020)

Background The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is profoundly affecting life around the globe. Isolation, contact restrictions and economic shutdown impose a complete change to the psychosocial environment in affected countries. These measures have the potential to threaten the mental health of children and adolescents significantly. Even though the current crisis can bring with it opportunities for personal growth and family cohesion, disadvantages may outweigh these benefits. Anxiety, lack of peer contact and reduced opportunities for stress regulation are main concerns. Another main threat is an increased risk for parental mental illness, domestic violence and child maltreatment. Especially for children and adolescents with special needs or disadvantages, such as disabilities, trauma experiences, already existing mental health problems, migrant background and low socioeconomic status, this may be a particularly challenging time. To maintain regular and emergency child and adolescent psychiatric treatment during the pandemic is a major challenge but is necessary for limiting long-term consequences for the mental health of children and adolescents. Urgent research questions comprise understanding the mental health effects of social distancing and economic pressure, identifying risk and resilience factors, and preventing long-term consequences, including—but not restricted to—child maltreatment. The efficacy of telepsychiatry is another highly relevant issue is to evaluate the efficacy of telehealth and perfect its applications to child and adolescent psychiatry. Conclusion There are numerous mental health threats associated with the current pandemic and subsequent restrictions. Child and adolescent psychiatrists must ensure continuity of care during all phases of the pandemic. COVID-19-associated mental health risks will disproportionately hit children and adolescents who are already disadvantaged and marginalized. Research is needed to assess the implications of policies enacted to contain the pandemic on mental health of children and adolescents, and to estimate the risk/benefit ratio of measures such as home schooling, in order to be better prepared for future developments.

0 comments Cited 679 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of psychological health problems in Chinese adolescents during the outbreak of COVID-19

Shuang-Jiang Zhou, Li-Gang Zhang, Lei-Lei Wang … (2020)

Psychological health problems, especially emotional disorders, are common among adolescents. The epidemiology of emotional disorders is greatly influenced by stressful events. This study sought to assess the prevalence rate and socio-demographic correlates of depressive and anxiety symptoms among Chinese adolescents affected by the outbreak of COVID-19. We conducted a cross-sectional study among Chinese students aged 12–18 years during the COVID-19 epidemic period. An online survey was used to conduct rapid assessment. A total of 8079 participants were involved in the study. An online survey was used to collect demographic data, assess students’ awareness of COVID-19, and assess depressive and anxiety symptoms with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) questionnaire, respectively. The prevalence of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and a combination of depressive and anxiety symptoms was 43.7%, 37.4%, and 31.3%, respectively, among Chinese high school students during the COVID-19 outbreak. Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed that female gender was the higher risk factor for depressive and anxiety symptoms. In terms of grades, senior high school was a risk factor for depressive and anxiety symptoms; the higher the grade, the greater the prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms. Our findings show there is a high prevalence of psychological health problems among adolescents, which are negatively associated with the level of awareness of COVID-19. These findings suggest that the government needs to pay more attention to psychological health among adolescents while combating COVID-19. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (10.1007/s00787-020-01541-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

0 comments Cited 613 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Risk and Protective Factors for Prospective Changes in Adolescent Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Natasha R. Magson, Justin Freeman, Ronald M. Rapee … (2020)

The restrictions put in place to contain the COVID-19 virus have led to widespread social isolation, impacting mental health worldwide. These restrictions may be particularly difficult for adolescents, who rely heavily on their peer connections for emotional support. However, there has been no longitudinal research examining the psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic among adolescents. This study addresses this gap by investigating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents’ mental health, and moderators of change, as well as assessing the factors perceived as causing the most distress. Two hundred and forty eight adolescents (M age = 14.4; 51% girls; 81.8% Caucasian) were surveyed over two time points; in the 12 months leading up to the COVID-19 outbreak (T1), and again two months following the implementation of government restrictions and online learning (T2). Online surveys assessed depressive symptoms, anxiety, and life satisfaction at T1 and T2, and participants’ schooling, peer and family relationships, social connection, media exposure, COVID-19 related stress, and adherence to government stay-at-home directives at T2 only. In line with predictions, adolescents experienced significant increases in depressive symptoms and anxiety, and a significant decrease in life satisfaction from T1 to T2, which was particularly pronounced among girls. Moderation analyses revealed that COVID-19 related worries, online learning difficulties, and increased conflict with parents predicted increases in mental health problems from T1 to T2, whereas adherence to stay-at-home orders and feeling socially connected during the COVID-19 lockdown protected against poor mental health. This study provides initial longitudinal evidence for the decline of adolescent’s mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results suggest that adolescents are more concerned about the government restrictions designed to contain the spread of the virus, than the virus itself, and that those concerns are associated with increased anxiety and depressive symptoms, and decreased life satisfaction.

0 comments Cited 491 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

All references

Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): JCPP Adv

Title: JCPP advances

Publisher: Wiley

ISSN (Electronic): 2692-9384

ISSN (Print): 2692-9384

Publication date (Electronic): Jul 2021

Volume: 1

Issue: 2

Affiliations

[1 ] Department of Psychology Reykjavik University Reykjavik Iceland.

[2 ] Icelandic Center for Social Research and Analysis Reykjavik Iceland.

[3 ] Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences School of Public Health West Virginia University Morgantown West Virginia USA.

[4 ] Population Health Science and Policy Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai New York City New York USA.

[5 ] Department of Health and Behavior Studies, Teachers College Columbia University New York City New York USA.

[6 ] Department of Sociomedical Sciences Mailman School of Public Health Columbia University New York City New York USA.

Article

Publisher Item ID: JCV212027

DOI: 10.1002/jcv2.12027

PMC ID: 8420409

PubMed ID: 34514467

SO-VID: 802b5d32-b87d-4a60-98a0-bc5033004842

History

Keywords: COVID‐19,adolescence,depressive symptoms,gender,mental health,pandemic,social media

Data availability:

Keywords: COVID‐19, adolescence, depressive symptoms, gender, mental health, pandemic, social media

Adolescent well-being amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Are girls struggling more than boys?

Read this article at

Abstract

Related collections

Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19

Most cited references 44

Challenges and burden of the Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic for child and adolescent mental health: a narrative review to highlight clinical and research needs in the acute phase and the long return to normality

Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of psychological health problems in Chinese adolescents during the outbreak of COVID-19

Risk and Protective Factors for Prospective Changes in Adolescent Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Author and article information

Journal

Affiliations

Article

History

Comments

Comment on this article

Similar content 315

Cited by 26

Most referenced authors 3,203