Long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health of adolescents: a preliminary study
psychologist and psychotherapist
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a global impact not only on the economy and health care systems, but also on mental health of thousands of people. A team from SWPS University’s Center for Research on Personality Development examined long-term effects of the pandemic on the mental health of children and adolescents.
Grant MINIATURA provided by the National Science Center (NCN) Project No.: 2021/05/X/HS6/01437
Project objectives
We assumed, that the subjective assessment of the period when the pandemic restrictions prevailed was particularly significant for the functioning of young people in the post-pandemic world. We also assumed that if children and adolescents associate the pandemic with loneliness, stress and anxiety, then the risk of their abnormal functioning in the future is equally significant, increasing the risk of developing anxiety disorders or depression.
Usually, the functioning and well-being of children reflects the functioning of parents and their quality of life. We hypothesized that parents’ personality traits, which are responsible for coping with stressful situations, and the level of the COVID-19-related stress experienced by the parents, constituted important factors that influenced the mental health of the children during the pandemic.
In 2019, with the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, our world changed overnight. The first months were dominated by fear for our own health and the health and lives of our loved ones. In later stages of the pandemic, people began to experience increasingly strong effects of isolation and loneliness, arising from hard lockdowns, inability to move freely, lack of face-to-face meetings, hours spent in front of computer monitors, and disruptions of daily routines. Although these days COVID-19 is no longer the dominant problem of our daily lives, the experience of the pandemic raises a question concerning long-term effects of the forced isolation, which lasted almost two years (2020-2021). Clinical observations and some scientific reports indicate the negative impact of lockdown-related restrictions and the effects of prolonged fear for one's own and their loved ones' health, in various age groups. Increased levels of anxiety and mood disorders have been observed. In this light, researching long-term effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of children and adolescents seems particularly important.
Research Methodology
We carried out a longitudinal study with two measurements, scheduled six months apart, to verify our hypotheses.
Fifty triads, composed of parents/legal caregivers and their children (age 12 to 14) participated in the study. All respondents were asked to fill out a set of questionnaires, twice.
Research Team
Practical application of results
The study helped us to assess whether children and adolescents, who experienced the COVID-19 pandemic, would also suffer its negative consequences in the future. This was of a fundamental importance for the creation of future social policies, including those concerning the protection of the mental health of the youngest members of the society.
In addition, the obtained results will help us to design further studies, which will focus not only on factors that adversely affect long-term mental health of young people (risk factors), but will also pay attention to protective factors that can help children and adolescents to maintain good health, under unfavorable conditions.