Background

While lockdown restrictions in response to COVID-19 indisputably mitigated virus transmission, the aim of this longitudinal study was to establish indirect effects on vulnerable young people's mental well-being and physical activity (PA) levels.

Methods

Surveys conducted at time 1 (February 2020), and time 2 (April 2020) comprised of the short Warwick Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Scale, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and self-reported moderate and vigorous PA levels. Repeated measures analyses established changes pre-post lockdown restrictions, and differences between sub-groups. Associations between changes in well-being, self-esteem and PA over time were explored through further regression analyses.

Results

65 respondents completed the survey at time 1, and 50 respondent at time 2. Wellbeing increased significantly over time, yet remained significantly lower than the population average. Self-esteem increased significantly post-lockdown, however remained significantly lower for females, compared with males. Overall, PA levels increased-whereby ‘inactive’ participants at time 1 reported significant increases in moderate and total activity levels at time 2. Increased PA levels significantly predicted increased well-being: F(1, 48) = 4.15, p < .05; while participants who had become less active accounted for 69.2% with low self-esteem at time 2.

Conclusions

Findings indicate that increased PA accounted for improved mental well-being, while decreased PA was associated with reduced levels of self-esteem. PA may represent a modifiable means of mitigating risk, and promoting resilience for vulnerable young people experiencing adverse conditions.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 封锁之前和期间无家可归的年轻人的心理健康和身体活动：一项纵向研究

 背景

虽然针对 COVID-19 的封锁限制无疑减轻了病毒传播，但这项纵向研究的目的是确定对弱势年轻人心理健康和体力活动 (PA) 水平的间接影响。

 方法

在时间 1（2020 年 2 月）和时间 2（2020 年 4 月）进行的调查包括简短的华威爱丁堡心理健康量表、罗森伯格自尊量表以及自我报告的中等和剧烈 PA 水平。重复措施分析确定了封锁限制前的变化以及亚组之间的差异。通过进一步的回归分析，探讨了随着时间的推移，幸福感、自尊和 PA 变化之间的关联。

 结果

65 名受访者在时间 1 完成了调查，50 名受访者在时间 2 完成了调查。随着时间的推移，幸福感显着增加，但仍显着低于人口平均水平。封锁后，女性的自尊显着增加，但与男性相比，女性的自尊仍然显着较低。总体而言，PA 水平增加，因此时间 1 的“不活动”参与者报告时间 2 的中等活动水平和总活动水平显着增加。PA 水平增加显着预测幸福感增加： F (1, 48) = 4.15, p < 。 05;而在时间 2 时变得不那么活跃的参与者则有 69.2% 的自尊心较低。

 结论

研究结果表明，PA 增加可以改善心理健康，而 PA 减少则与自尊水平降低相关。 PA 可能是一种可修改的方法，可以减轻风险，并提高经历不利条件的弱势年轻人的恢复能力。