Psychopathology, Protective Factors, and COVID-19 among Adolescents: A Structural Equation Model

Christin Scheiner (), Christian Seis, Nikolaus Kleindienst and Arne Buerger
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Christin Scheiner: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany
Christian Seis: Department of Psychology I, Wuerzburg University, 97070 Würzburg, Germany
Nikolaus Kleindienst: Central Institute of Mental Health, Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, 68159 Mannheim, Germany
Arne Buerger: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, University Hospital of Würzburg, 97080 Würzburg, Germany

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 3, 1-14

Abstract: Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2019 and the associated restrictions, mental health in children and adolescents has been increasingly discussed in the media. Negative impacts of the pandemic, including a sharp increase in psychopathology and, consequently, reduced quality of life, appear to have particularly affected children and young people, who may be especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of isolation. Nevertheless, many children and adolescents have managed to cope well with the restrictions, without deterioration of their mental health. The present study therefore explored the links between COVID-19 infection (in oneself or a family member, as well as the death of a family member due to the virus), protective factors such as self-efficacy, resilience, self-esteem, and health-related quality of life, and measures of psychopathology such as depression scores, internalizing/externalizing problems, emotion dysregulation, and victimization. For this purpose, we examined data from 2129 adolescents (mean age = 12.31, SD = 0.67; 51% male; 6% born outside of Germany) using a structural equation model. We found medium to high loadings of the manifest variables with the latent variables (COVID-19, protective factors, and psychopathology). Protective factors showed a significant negative correlation with psychopathology. However, COVID-19 had a weak connection with psychopathology in our sample. External pandemic-related factors (e.g., restrictions) and their interaction with existing psychopathology or individual protective factors appear to have a greater influence on young people’s mental health than the impact of the virus per se. Sociopolitical efforts should be undertaken to foster prevention and promote individual resilience, especially in adolescence.

Keywords: adolescence; mental health; psychopathology; protective factors; COVID-19 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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