Loneliness, internalizing symptoms, and inflammatory markers in adolescent COVID-19 survivors (original) (raw)
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Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Nursing, 2022
The aim of the present study is to determine the relationship between loneliness and depression felt by adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Design and Methods: The study sample consisted of 423 adolescents who volunteered to participate in the study. All participants had internet access and the cognitive ability to express themselves. The participants filled out the Google Documents form that included the "Socio-demographic Data Form," "Children's Depression Inventory," and "Short-form UCLA Loneliness Scale" to collect data. Findings: It was determined that the depression inventory total mean score of the adolescents participating in the study was 55.15 ± 2.88 (high) and the loneliness scale total mean score was 16.43 ± 4.93 (medium). A statistically positive high correlation was found between the depression total mean scores and the loneliness total mean scores of the adolescents (p < 0.05). As the loneliness levels of the adolescents increased, their depression levels increased. Practice Implications: Adolescents were more likely to experience mental disorders such as loneliness and depression during and after the pandemic. Governments should focus on the mental health of adolescents in the management of COVID-19. Clinical services should plan and implement prevention activities, support programs, and services to replace early diagnosis and intervention.
Loneliness, social relationships, and mental health in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic
Journal of Affective Disorders, 2021
Loneliness is a common experience in adolescence and is related to a range of mental health problems. Such feelings may have been increased by social distancing measures introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic. We aimed to investigate the effect of loneliness, social contact, and parent relationships on adolescent mental health during lockdown in the UK. Young people aged 11-16 years (n = 894) completed measures of loneliness, social contact, parent-adolescent relationships, and mental health difficulties during the first 11 weeks of lockdown and one-month later (n = 443). We examined cross-sectional associations and longitudinal relationships between loneliness, social contact, and parent relationships and subsequent mental health. Adolescents who reported higher loneliness had significantly higher symptoms of mental health difficulties during lockdown. We found that adolescents who had closer relationships with their parents reported significantly less severe symptoms of mental health difficulties and lower levels of loneliness. We also found that adolescents who spent more time texting others reported higher symptoms of mental health difficulties. Our hypothesis that loneliness would predict poorer mental health one month later was not supported. Time spent texting others at baseline was significantly associated with higher hyperactivity at follow-up, and closeness to parents was significantly associated with lower psychological distress at follow-up. We conclude that while loneliness was associated with greater mental health difficulties at baseline, it did not predict increased mental health difficulties one month later. Moreover, existing mental health problems significantly predicted later increased mental health difficulties, thereby highlighting the importance of continuing support for vulnerable people.
Humanitas: Indonesian Psychological Journal
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every element of adolescent life worldwide, including Indonesia. This study intended to examine how adolescents' loneliness and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic are affected by their family relationships and online friendships. This study collects data using an online questionnaire. The Mental Health Continuum-Short Form, the UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3, the Brief Family Relationship Scale, and the Online Friendship Scale were used to collect the data. Two hundred ninety-two students aged 12-18 participated in data gathering in Jakarta, Indonesia, between March and April 2021. Descriptive, correlation and Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analyses were conducted using SPSS 25.0 and LISREL 8.80. This research revealed that family relationships and online friendships had a negative effect on loneliness. Family relationships favorably impact adolescent mental health, but loneliness negatively impacts it. Furthermore, family relation...
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 2020
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Healthcare, 2021
Objective: The objective of this study was to examine differences in worry, loneliness, and mental health between those individuals infected by COVID-19 or having someone their family infected, and the rest of the population. Methods: A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in Norway, UK, USA, and Australia during April/May 2020. Participants (n = 3810) were recruited via social media postings by the researchers and the involved universities. Differences between those with and without infection in the family were investigated with chi-square tests and independent t-tests. Multiple regression analyses were used to assess associations between sociodemographic variables and psychological outcomes (worry, loneliness, and mental health) in both groups. Results: Compared to their counterparts, participants with infection in the family reported higher levels of worries about themselves (p < 0.05) and their family members (p < 0.001) and had poorer mental health (p < 0.05). However, the effect sizes related to the differences were small. The largest effect (d = 0.24) concerned worries about their immediate family. Poorer psychological outcomes were observed in those who were younger, female, unemployed, living alone and had lower levels of education, yet with small effect sizes. Conclusions: In view of the small differences between those with and without infection, we generally conclude that the mental health effects of the COVID-19 situation are not limited to those who have been infected or have had an infection within the family but extend to the wider population.
Social Isolation in Times of COVID-19: Effects on Adolescents' Mental Health
Asian Journal of Pediatric Research, 2021
Introduction: The pandemic caused by the new coronavirus forced the adoption of several measures for individual and collective protection measures, including isolation, which interrupted direct social contact and started to draw the attention of researchers due to its potential risk of damage to people’s mental health, notably for the most sensitive groups, such as adolescents. Aim: This article presents some emotional repercussions observed in groups of adolescents, after six months of social isolation. Methodology: Literature retrieved through Google Scholar, Medline, PubMed, Scopus, Scielo, and Cochrane Library databases related to the mental health of adolescents during the period of social isolation determined by the coronavirus pandemic, published between January and July 2020. Results: The studies have found manifestations ranging from mild symptoms, such as boredom, inattention, agitation, irritability, fatigue and excessive worries to those of greater magnitude, such as w...
Loneliness during COVID-19: Development and influencing factors
PLOS ONE
In early pandemic waves, when vaccination against COVID-19 was not yet an option, distancing and reduced social contact were the most effective measures to slow down the pandemic. Changes in frequency and forms of social contact have reduced the spread of the COVID-19 virus and thus saved lives, yet there is increasing evidence for negative side effects such as mental health issues. In the present study, we investigate the development of loneliness and its predictors to examine the role of changes in social networks due to social distancing and other COVID-19-related life changes. A total of 737 participants (age range = 18–81 years) completed an online survey in three waves during the last quarter of 2020 at one-month intervals. Latent growth and multilevel modeling revealed that emotional loneliness increased over time, while social loneliness remained stable. Moreover, socially lonely individuals were likely to also develop emotional loneliness over time. Increased social distanc...
Research in psychotherapy, 2021
Loneliness may be a consequence of social distancing, a measure imposed by several governments to try to reduce the contagion of severe acute respiratory syndrome-related coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Despite being necessary, this measure may have thus caused a rise in mental health issues, leading to higher psychological distress and symptomatology. Thus, it is also important to explore how loneliness relates to the regulation of psychological needs. This study aims to explore the relationships between loneliness, symptomatology, and the regulation of psychological needs. 142 individuals (M age=32.7, SD=10.9), answered self-report questionnaires in a cross-sectional design. Results show that loneliness is positively correlated with symptomatology and difficulties in the regulation of psychological needs, with these relationships being mediated by psychological distress and psychological well-being. We discuss our results with a focus on loneliness and related psychopathological symptomatology, as they seem to be core factors in the regulation of psychological needs.
Merrill-Palmer Quarterly
Adolescents' interactions with friends were severely disrupted during stay-at-home orders associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. The current study (N = 144; 49% female; 80% European American) considered adolescents' perceptions of this disruption and the implications of the disruption for their emotional adjustment. Adolescents reported that not seeing friends was the most distressing consequence of the pandemic. Compared to before the pandemic, adolescents reported a large decrease in in-person interactions with friends, which was related to loneliness. There was a small increase in online interactions, which could counteract the effects of fewer in-person interactions, but only if the interactions felt socially connected. Online interactions lacking social connection were related to greater loneliness and depressive symptoms.
Social experiences and youth psychopathology during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study
2021
The early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated stay-at-home orders resulted in a stark reduction in daily social interactions for children and adolescents. Given that peer relationships are especially important during this developmental stage, it is crucial to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on social behavior and risk for psychopathology in children and adolescents. In a longitudinal sample (N=224) of children (7-10y) and adolescents (13-15y) assessed at three strategic time points (before the pandemic, during the initial stay-at-home order period, and six months later after the initial stay-at-home order period was lifted), we examine whether certain social factors protect against increases in stress-related psychopathology during the pandemic, controlling for pre-pandemic symptoms. Youth who reported less in-person and digital socialization, greater social isolation, and less social support had worsened psychopathology during the pandemic. Greater social ...