OBJECTIVE: Children and adolescents, individuals from racial and ethnic minority groups, and those with mental health conditions may be at greater risk for worsened mental health because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examined change in mental health from before to during the pandemic among predominantly Hispanic/Latinx adolescents. METHOD: A total of 322 young adolescents (mean age = 11.99 years, 55% female and 45% male), with a racial/ethnic composition of 72.7% Hispanic/Latinx, 9.3% Black or African American, 5.9% multiple races, 5.0% Asian, 1.6% White, and 1.2% American Indian, completed a mental health screening measure prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and at 3 time-points beginning 1 month after COVID-19 stay-at-home measures were implemented. A subsample also completed a survey about their experience at home during COVID-19. Repeated-measures mixed analysis of covariance was used to evaluate change in each mental health domain, and whether youths who had elevated symptoms at baseline differed in their level of change, controlling for age and gender. RESULTS: For youths who had elevated levels of mental health problems before the pandemic, symptoms were significantly reduced across domains during the pandemic. Reductions in internalizing, externalizing, and total problems were clinically significant. For other youths, there were statistically significant reductions in internalizing and total problems, and no change in attention or externalizing problems. Post hoc analyses revealed that better family functioning was consistently related to lower mental health symptoms in youths during COVID-19 follow-ups. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 stay-at-home regulations may offer protective effects for youth mental health. Study results may be specific to this population of predominantly Hispanic/Latinx youths from a large city in the southwestern United States.
OBJECTIVE:Children and adolescents, individuals from racial and ethnic minority groups, and those with mental health conditions may be at greater risk for worsened mental health because of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examined change in mental health from before to during the pandemic among predominantly Hispanic/Latinx adolescents. METHOD: A total of 322 young adolescents (mean age = 11.99 years, 55% female and 45% male), with a racial/ethnic composition of 72.7% Hispanic/Latinx, 9.3% Black or African American, 5.9% multiple races, 5.0% Asian, 1.6% White, and 1.2% American Indian, completed a mental health screening measure prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and at 3 time-points beginning 1 month after COVID-19 stay-at-home measures were implemented. A subsample also completed a survey about their experience at home during COVID-19. Repeated-measures mixed analysis of covariance was used to evaluate change in each mental health domain, and whether youths who had elevated symptoms at baseline differed in their level of change, controlling for age and gender. RESULTS: For youths who had elevated levels of mental health problems before the pandemic, symptoms were significantly reduced across domains during the pandemic. Reductions in internalizing, externalizing, and total problems were clinically significant. For other youths, there were statistically significant reductions in internalizing and total problems, and no change in attention or externalizing problems. Post hoc analyses revealed that better family functioning was consistently related to lower mental health symptoms in youths during COVID-19 follow-ups. CONCLUSION:COVID-19 stay-at-home regulations may offer protective effects for youth mental health. Study results may be specific to this population of predominantly Hispanic/Latinx youths from a large city in the southwestern United States.
Authors: Emily Widnall; Emma A Adams; Ruth Plackett; Lizzy Winstone; Claire M A Haworth; Becky Mars; Judi Kidger Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-06-10 Impact factor: 4.614
Authors: Juliet Beni Edgcomb; Nicole M Benson; Chi-Hong Tseng; Rohith Thiruvalluru; Jyotishman Pathak; Regina Bussing; Christopher A Harle; Bonnie T Zima Journal: Psychiatr Res Clin Pract Date: 2022-02-23
Authors: Douglas K Novins; Joel Stoddard; Robert R Althoff; Alice Charach; Samuele Cortese; Kathryn Regan Cullen; Jean A Frazier; Stephen J Glatt; Schuyler W Henderson; Ryan J Herringa; Leslie Hulvershorn; Christian Kieling; Anne B McBride; Elizabeth McCauley; Christel M Middeldorp; Angela M Reiersen; Carol M Rockhill; Adam J Sagot; Lawrence Scahill; Emily Simonoff; S Evelyn Stewart; Eva Szigethy; Jerome H Taylor; Tonya White; Bonnie T Zima Journal: J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2021-03-17 Impact factor: 13.113
Authors: Jade Sheen; Elizabeth M Clancy; Julie Considine; Alison Dwyer; Phillip Tchernegovski; Anna Aridas; Brian En Chyi Lee; Andrea Reupert; Leanne Boyd Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-04-18 Impact factor: 4.614