Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Mental Well-Being of Norwegian Adolescents During the First Wave—Socioeconomic Position and Gender Differences

Myhr, Arnhild; Naper, Linn Renée; Samarawickrema, Indira; Vesterbekkmo, Renate K

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2021.717747

Cited by 20 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 54 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Taken together, the data suggest that a substantial proportion of adolescents frequently felt lonely during the time of national lockdown and that loneliness had intensified during this period for many adolescents. These findings concur with concerns expressed in the scientific literature about the potential negative effect of the pandemic and the resulting measures to curb the spread of the virus on the mental health and well-being of young persons (Loades et al, 2020 ) although not all studies are consistent with the above (Houghton et al, 2022 ; Myhr et al, 2021 ).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…In the 2020 YouGov survey, 41% of the children and young persons surveyed reported that they were lonelier than they had been before lockdown (Barnardo’s, 2020 ). There is some evidence from other countries on the negative impact of the pandemic disease containment measures on adolescents’ loneliness (Ellis et al, 2020 ) although findings from a prospective study involving Australian youth (Houghton et al, 2022 ) and findings from a Norwegian study using repeated cross-sectional surveys (Myhr et al, 2021 ) have shown no increase in loneliness in relation to school closure and disease containment measures earlier in the pandemic relative to pre-pandemic measures.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Loneliness and self-harm in adolescents during the first national COVID-19 lockdown: results from a survey of 10,000 secondary school pupils in England

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Adolescents’ loneliness and self-harm have received considerable attention during the COVID-19 pandemic with concerns that the socioecological changes taking place would contribute to an escalation of both loneliness and self-harm. However, empirical evidence is scant. We estimated the prevalence of loneliness and self-harm in adolescent school pupils and investigated the association of loneliness and change in loneliness during the UK’s first lockdown with self-harm during lockdown in a cross-sectional school survey (OxWell) involving 10,460 12–18-year-olds from south England. Loneliness was measured with four items. Self-harm was ascertained through a detailed questionnaire. The prevalence of loneliness and self-harm were estimated applying post-stratification weights to account for differences between the study sample and the target population. The associations between indicators of loneliness and self-harm were examined using mixed effect models. 1,896 of 10,460 adolescents (18.1%) reported feeling lonely ‘often’ (weighted proportion 16.8%). 3,802/10,460 (36.4%; weighted proportion 35%) felt more lonely since lockdown. Self-harm during lockdown was reported by 787/10,460 adolescents (7.5%; weighted proportion 6.7%). Controlling for confounders, adolescents who reported feeling lonely ‘often’ [adjusted odds ratio (aOR) 2.8, 95% CI 2.1–3.9, p < 0.0001] or ‘sometimes’ (aOR 2.2, 95% CI 1.5–3.2, p < 0.0001) were more likely to self-harm during lockdown relative to adolescents who reported ‘never’ or ‘hardly ever’ feeling lonely. Exacerbation in loneliness during lockdown was associated with an increase in the odds of self-harm during lockdown. Loneliness, heightened loneliness and self-harm were common during lockdown and closely linked. It is important to support schools in address loneliness and self-harm as part of efforts to improve well-being as the long tail of the pandemic continues to impact on child and adolescent mental health. Understanding how loneliness and self-harm may co-vary could be important for future self-harm reduction strategies in young persons.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Loneliness and self-harm in adolescents during the first national COVID-19 lockdown: results from a survey of 10,000 secondary school pupils in England

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Egypt [37], and other countries all over the world [38][39][40]. The ndings, however, conform to other studies indicating that children and younger age are at risk of mental problems [41], which was approved, mainly during Covid-19, in different countries such as China [22], Italy and Spain [24], and Norway [42]. The high prevalence of mental health problems, mainly in developing countries, is strongly attributed to health and development worries in young people [43], in addition to the underestimation of child mental health problems [37,44].…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 79%

Children’s Well-Being Post the Pandemic and Amid the Economic Crisis in Lebanon

Nasr

Haddad

Raidan

et al. 2022

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: The outbreak of coronavirus in 2020 prompted schools to shift their classes from a physical learning environment to an online one to implement measures of social distancing to limit the spread of the pandemic. This disruption negatively influenced the social interaction of children and their well-being. In Lebanon, the situation was further exacerbated due to the severe economic crisis that had and still has obvious negative effects on the well-being of children. This study aims to investigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the economic crisis on the mental health of Lebanese children aged 5 to 14 years old and to assess their well-being in a post-pandemic world. Method: A quantitative research design was adopted, and the validated Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to collect data. 966 responses were collected, among which 627 parental reports and 339 teacher reports. Descriptive analysis was conducted for categorical variables and continuous measures. Means were compared using the independent-sample t-test and the analysis of variance (ANOVA) test. Pearson correlation test was used to evaluate the association between continuous variables. And a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was conducted to compare the total SDQ difficulties score and sub-scores between the teacher and parents. Results: 34% of the study population are categorized as abnormal and 14.9% as borderline according to the SDQ score, and an expansion of mental health problems among these children is indicated. The study reveals that the most common mental health problems identified among these children are respectively conduct problems, peer, emotional, and hyperactivity problems, and prosocial problems. The main factors impacting the high rates of mental health problems among Lebanese children are gender, parental control, lack of discipline, poor-quality education background, parenting problems, low family income, physical defects among children, and the political situation of the country. Conclusion: This study highlights the necessity of promoting mental health awareness among parents and teachers and adopting intervention and prevention measures to help children in Lebanon deal with mental health challenges caused by the pandemic and the ongoing economic crisis.

show abstract

“…Among adolescents, in general, there was a reduction in all the components of well-being (lifestyle habits, social, and emotional components), as well as a decrease in quality of life and life satisfaction [ 52 , 53 ].…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health Consequences of COVID-19 Pandemic Period in the European Population: An Institutional Challenge

Fazio

Morena

Delogu

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The worldwide spread of SARS-CoV-2 has been responsible for an infectious pandemic, with repercussions on socio-economic aspects and on the physical and mental health of the general population. The present systematic review aimed to evaluate the data belonging to the European framework, analyzing the population by age group. Original articles and reviews on the state of mental health of the general European population have been researched starting from 2021. Initially, a total of 1764 studies were found, among which a total of 75 were selected. Youth were the age group most affected by pandemic consequences on mental health, with emotional and behavioral alterations observed from a third to more than a half of children and adolescents examined. Among both adolescents and adults, the female gender had a higher prevalence of psychopathological symptoms. The main risk factors were poor social support, economic difficulties, and, in particular, unemployment or job changes. Additional individual risk factors were the perception of loneliness, the presence of pre-pandemic mental illness/distress, and some personality traits, such as neuroticism, impulsiveness, and the use of maladaptive coping strategies. Unexpectedly, the elderly maintained good resilience towards change, even if a stress factor was represented by the feeling of loneliness and poor social contact. As regards suicidal behaviors, among adolescents, there was an increase in attempts of 25%, with a greater risk for the female gender. This risk increased also among adults, in association with symptoms of anxiety and depression, and poor socio-environmental conditions. In conclusion, some population groups were found to be at greater risk of psychological burden during pandemic waves, thus representing priority targets for socio-health interventions.

show abstract

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic Lockdown on Mental Well-Being of Norwegian Adolescents During the First Wave—Socioeconomic Position and Gender Differences

Cited by 20 publications

References 54 publications

Loneliness and self-harm in adolescents during the first national COVID-19 lockdown: results from a survey of 10,000 secondary school pupils in England

Loneliness and self-harm in adolescents during the first national COVID-19 lockdown: results from a survey of 10,000 secondary school pupils in England

Children’s Well-Being Post the Pandemic and Amid the Economic Crisis in Lebanon

Mental Health Consequences of COVID-19 Pandemic Period in the European Population: An Institutional Challenge

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About