Natasha R. Magson Receives Emerging Scholar Best Article Award, 2022.

The editors of the Journal of Youth and Adolescence are very pleased to announce the 2022 recipient of its Emerging Scholar Best Article Award. This award goes to the article’s lead author, who must be an “emerging scholar” (i.e., an untenured researcher, such as a graduate student, postdoctoral scholar, research scientist, or assistant professor) at the time their manuscript was accepted. The recipient of the award is selected by editorial board members who evaluate a volume’s manuscripts on the basis of their innovative and substantive contributions to the empirical understanding of adolescence. In addition to receiving the recognition from colleagues, the winner receives a financial award generously provided by Springer, the journal’s publisher.

The 2022 winner is Natasha R. Magson, for her entitled “Risk and Protective Factors for Prospective Changes in Adolescent Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic” (Magson et al., 2021). Dr Magson is a Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Centre for Emotional Health, Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Her research interests include peer influences on adolescent mental health and the impact of peer victimization and weight stigma on adolescent wellbeing. Her co-authors were Justin Y. A. Freeman (Macquarie University), Ronald M. Rapee (Macquarie University), Cele E. Richardson (The University of Western Australia), Ella L. Oar (Macquarie University), and Jasmine Fardouly (University of New South Wales).

Her article presented what has become widely recognized as a groundbreaking longitudinal study examining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents’ mental health, moderators of change, and the factors perceived as causing the most distress. Two hundred and forty-eight adolescents (Mage = 14.4; 51% girls; 81.8% Caucasian) were surveyed over two timepoints; in the 12 months leading up to the COVID-19 outbreak (T1), and again 2 months following the implementation of government restrictions and online learning (T2). Consistent with predictions, adolescents experienced significant increases in depressive symptoms and anxiety. They also experienced a significant decrease in life satisfaction from T1 to T2, which was particularly pronounced among girls. Their analyses further revealed that COVID-19-related worries, online learning difficulties, and increased conflict with parents predicted increases in mental health problems from T1 to T2. Adherence to stay-at-home orders and feeling socially connected during the COVID-19 lockdown protected against poor mental health. Their study provided initial longitudinal evidence for the decline of adolescents’ mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their results suggested that adolescents are more concerned about the government restrictions designed to contain the spread of the virus, than the virus itself, and that those concerns are associated with increased anxiety and depressive symptoms, and decreased life satisfaction.

The journal’s editors view receiving the award as a considerably distinctive accomplishment. The journal publishes well over 150 articles per year, as it has since the award was established 10 years ago (Levesque, 2011). In addition, it is notable that, every year, fewer and fewer first authors are emerging scholars. Although fewer emerging scholars qualify to be considered, this shift in authorship has not reduced the competitiveness of the award. In fact, these developments actually make the process even more competitive for emerging scholars, as they have increased competition to get published in the first place (see Levesque, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021a).

As we celebrate this award, it also is important to recognize the other truly outstanding articles deemed the best in each of the journal’s other issues. Many of those articles focused on mental health (Graupensperger et al., 2021; Royuela-Colomer et al., 2021; Jarman et al., 2021; Murray et al., 2021; Lorenzo et al., 2021; Delaruelle et al., 2021). Others addressed issues of diversity (Dull et al., 2021; Ioverno & Russell, 2021) as well as identity development (Becht et al., 2021), academic engagement (Xiong et al., 2021) and involvement in the juvenile justice system (Pusch et al., 2021).

On behalf of the journal’s editorial board, I would like to congratulate this year’s recipient and her colleague. Their recognition comes at a remarkable time in the growth of our journal, as it recently celebrated its 50th anniversary and its transformation toward a curator model of editing (see Levesque, 2021b), and highlights the need to consider and take seriously the intricacies of youth’s engagement in societal changes and challenges.