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Associations between adolescents' prosocial experiences and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

ABSTRACT: Natural disasters and times of crisis, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, are extremely stressful events, with severe mental health consequences. However, such events also provide opportunities for prosocial support between citizens, which may be related to mental health symptoms and interpersonal needs. We examined adolescents' prosocial experiences as both actors and recipients during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and assessed whether these experiences were associated with indicators of mental health. Adolescents (N = 426; 78% female) aged 13 to 20 years (M _age = 16.43, SD = 1.10; 63.6% White, 12.9% Hispanic/Latinx, 8.5% Asian, 4.2% Black, 2.8% Native American) were recruited across the US in early April of 2020. Participants reported on their COVID-19 prosocial experiences (helping others, receiving help) and mental health (depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, burdensomeness, belongingness). Multiple regression models indicated greater engagement in COVID-19 prosocial behavior was associated with greater anxiety symptoms and greater burdensomeness. Receiving more COVID-19 help was associated with lower depressive symptoms and higher belongingness. Findings highlight the importance of furthering our understanding of the nuanced connections between prosocial experiences and adolescents' mental health to help inform post-pandemic recovery and relief efforts.

Supplementary information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12144-021-02670-y.

SUBMITTER: Alvis LM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8723710 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Vulnerabilities of adolescents during times of crisis have been previously identified, but little research has investigated the compounding effects of lifetime adversities and pandemic-related stress on adolescent mental health. This study uses adolescent self-report data to model relationships between stress exposures and indicators of poor mental health from the longitudinal COVID Experiences (CovEx) Surveys. These surveys were administered online in English to U.S. adolescents ages 13-19 using the NORC AmeriSpeak® panel, a probability-based panel designed to be representative of the U.S. household population. Two waves of data were collected (Wave 1: October-November 2020, n = 727; Wave 2: March-May 2021, n = 569). Measures included demographics, adverse childhood experiences (ACEs, 8 items), pandemic-related stress (Pandemic-Related Stress Index [PRSI], 7 items), and depression symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire for Adolescents [PHQ-A], 9 items). Path analyses were conducted to examine pathways between Wave 1 ACEs, Wave 1 PRSI, and Wave 2 PHQ with covariates of sex and race/ethnicity. Females had higher ACEs, PRSI, and PHQ scores than males. The PRSI score at Wave 1 was positively associated with the PHQ at Wave 2 (b = 0.29, SE = 0.14, p < 0.001). ACEs at Wave 1 were positively associated with PRSI at Wave 1 (b = 0.31, SE = 0.03, p < 0.001) and with PHQ at Wave 2 (b = 0.32, SE = 0.12, p < 0.001). The direct effect of ACEs on PHQ (b = 0.23, SE = 0.12, p < 0.001) remained significant even after accounting for the indirect effect of pandemic-related stress (b = 0.09, SE = 0.05, p < 0.001). Pandemic-related stress had a direct, adverse impact on adolescent depressive symptoms and demonstrates a compounding effect of childhood adversity and pandemic-related stress on depression. Findings can aid the design of interventions that promote mental health and support adolescent coping and recovery.Supplementary informationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40653-022-00502-0.

Project description:ObjectiveAdolescents' mental health was severely compromised during the COVID-19 pandemic. Longitudinal real-world studies on changes in the mental health of adolescents during the later phase of the pandemic are limited. We aimed to quantify the effect of COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents' mental health outcomes based on electronic health records.MethodThis was a retrospective cohort study using the computerized database of a 2.5 million members, state-mandated health organization in Israel. Rates of mental health diagnoses and psychiatric drug dispensations were measured among adolescents 12 to 17 years of age with and without pre-existing mental history, for the years 2017 to 2021. Relative risks were computed between the years, and interrupted time series (ITS) analyses evaluated changes in monthly incidence rates of psychiatric outcomes.ResultsThe average population size was 218,146 in 2021. During the COVID-19 period, a 36% increase was observed in the incidence of depression (95% CI = 25-47), 31% in anxiety (95% CI = 23-39), 20% in stress (95% CI = 13-27), 50% in eating disorders (95% CI = 35-67), 25% in antidepressant use (95% CI = 25-33), and 28% in antipsychotic use (95% CI = 18-40). A decreased rate of 26% (95% CI = 0.80-0.88) was observed in ADHD diagnoses. The increase of the examined outcomes was most prominent among youth without psychiatric history, female youth, general secular Jewish population, youth with medium-high socioeconomic status, and those 14 to 15 years of age. ITS analysis confirmed a significantly higher growth in the incidence of psychiatric outcomes during the COVID-19 period, compared to those in previous years.ConclusionThis real-world study highlights the deterioration of adolescents' mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic and suggests that youth mental health should be considered during health policy decision making.Diversity & inclusion statementWe worked to ensure sex and gender balance in the recruitment of human participants. We worked to ensure race, ethnic, and/or other types of diversity in the recruitment of human participants. We actively worked to promote sex and gender balance in our author group. The author list of this paper includes contributors from the location and/or community where the research was conducted who participated in the data collection, design, analysis, and/or interpretation of the work.

Project description:ImportanceThere are suggestions that school pressure may be stressful and a factor in child and adolescent mental health disturbances, but data about this association are scarce and inconclusive.ObjectiveTo assess whether varying degrees of school interruption were associated with changes in emergency department (ED) psychiatric visits of children and adolescents before and after the COVID-19 outbreak.Design, setting, and participantsA cross-sectional observational study was conducted at 9 urban university hospitals in Italy. All ED visits from January 1, 2018, to December 31, 2021, for psychiatric reasons of patients younger than 18 years were examined for demographic characteristics and type of psychopathologic factors. Data analysis was conducted from July 1 to August 31, 2023.ExposureThe disruption in the usual succession of school and holiday periods brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic at different times and with various degrees of intensity.Main outcomes and measuresTotal number of pediatric ED visits, psychiatric ED visits, and psychiatric ED visits categorized by specific reasons (eg, psychomotor agitation, suicide ideation [SI] or suicide attempt [SA], and eating disorders) on a weekly basis.ResultsA total of 13 014 psychiatric ED visits (1.3% of all pediatric ED visits) were recorded (63.2% females; mean [SD] age, 13.8 [3.8] years). The number of ED psychiatric visits increased over time (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.19; 95% CI, 1.16-1.22 for each year). Significant increases in ED visits were observed for eating disorders (294.8%), SI (297.8%), and SA (249.1%). School opening, but not social lockdown restriction, was associated with an increase in the number of ED psychiatric visits (IRR, 1.29; 95% CI, 1.23-1.34), which was evident for females and for SI with SA. Socioeconomic status was associated with an increase in psychiatric visits for males (IRR, 1.12; 95% CI, 1.04-1.20) but not females (IRR, 1.04; 95% CI, 0.98-1.10).Conclusions and relevanceIn this study, school opening was associated with an increased incidence of acute psychiatric emergencies among children and adolescents, suggesting that school can be a substantial source of stress with acute mental health implications.

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Associations between adolescents' prosocial experiences and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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