Purpose

The aim of this study is to determine whether COVID-19-induced financial impact, stress, loneliness, and isolation were related to perceived changes in adolescent mental health and substance use.

Methods

Data were from Baseline (2018) and Wave 3 (2020; mean age = 14.8; 50% female) of 1,188 adolescents recruited from 12 Texas public middle schools as part of a randomized controlled trial. Participants were primarily Black (23%), Latinx (41%), Asian (11%), and White (9%). We assessed mental health and substance use (Baseline and Wave 3) and pandemic-related physical interaction, loneliness, stress, family conflict, and economic situation (Wave 3).

Results

COVID-19-induced stress and loneliness were linked to depression (beta = 0.074, p ≤ .001; beta = 0.132, p ≤ .001) and anxiety (beta = 0.061, p = .001; beta = 0.088, p ≤ .001) among ethnically diverse adolescents. Adolescents who did not limit their physical interactions due to COVID-19 had fewer symptoms of depression (beta = −0.036, p = .03); additionally, adolescents who did not restrict their socializing were substantially more likely to report using a variety of substances (e.g., for episodic heavy drinking; odds ratio = 1.81, p = .001). Increased use of a food bank was linked to depression (beta = 0.063, p ≤ .001) and a negative change in financial situation was linked to increased alcohol use (odds ratio = 0.70, p = .04) among adolescents.

Discussion

After controlling for prepandemic psychopathology and race/ethnicity, COVID-19 induced isolation, loneliness, stress, and economic challenges were linked to poor mental health and substance misuse. Substantial structural, community, school, and individual level resources are needed to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent psychosocial health.

中文翻译：

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COVID-19 大流行对青少年心理健康和物质使用的影响

目的

本研究的目的是确定 COVID-19 引起的财务影响、压力、孤独和孤立是否与青少年心理健康和物质使用的感知变化有关。

方法

作为一项随机对照试验的一部分，数据来自基线（2018 年）和第 3 波（2020 年；平均年龄 = 14.8；50% 为女性）从德克萨斯州 12 所公立中学招募的 1,188 名青少年。参与者主要是黑人 (23%)、拉丁裔 (41%)、亚裔 (11%) 和白人 (9%)。我们评估了心理健康和物质使用（基线和第 3 波）以及与流行病相关的身体互动、孤独、压力、家庭冲突和经济状况（第 3 波）。

结果

COVID-19 引起的压力和孤独与抑郁（beta = 0.074，p ≤ .001；beta = 0.132，p ≤ .001）和焦虑（beta = 0.061，p  = .001；beta = 0.088，p ≤ . 001）在不同种族的青少年中。未因 COVID-19 而限制身体互动的青少年抑郁症状较少（β = −0.036，p  = .03）；此外，不限制社交活动的青少年更有可能报告使用各种物质（例如，偶发性大量饮酒；比值比 = 1.81，p  = .001）。增加使用食物银行与抑郁症有关（β = 0.063，p ≤ .001)，财务状况的负面变化与青少年饮酒增加有关（比值比 = 0.70，p = .04）。

讨论

在控制大流行前的精神病理学和种族/族裔后，COVID-19 引起的孤立、孤独、压力和经济挑战与心理健康不佳和药物滥用有关。需要大量的结构、社区、学校和个人层面的资源来减轻 COVID-19 大流行对青少年社会心理健康的影响。