Mental Health Profiles in a Sample of Moroccan High School Students: Comparison Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

BackgroundAdolescent high school students may be particularly susceptible to suffering from the effect of isolation, physical distancing restrictions, and school closures imposed during the COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) pandemic. Given the biological and psychological changes that occur during this period of development, adolescents' experiences of these pandemic measures could significantly threaten their mental health and cause long-term consequences.AimThe main objectives of the study were to determine the impact of confinement because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on the psychological distress of Moroccan adolescents and identify the risk and protective factors that could influence their mental health.MethodsThe participants in this study were Moroccan high school students who were recruited at two different times—before the COVID-19 pandemic (350 students, mean age: 16.55 years; 53.71% female; data collected in 2014/2015) and after the announcement of the pandemic (457 students, mean age: 16.84; 64.1% female; data collected in 2020). Students responded to an anonymous survey that included several validated instruments, such as the Brief Symptom Inventory and the Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Physical Activity questionary, and elicited information about the students' psychosocial environment, gender, and age. The scores on the Brief Symptom Inventory dimensions from the pre-pandemic period and during 2020 were compared. A comparison between the scores of the two genders of the 2020 sample was also carried out. In addition, binary regression analysis was performed to predict the associations between gender, frequency of physical activity, the presence of the number of negative psychosocial factors, and those dimensions of the Brief Symptom Inventory that significantly changed between the samples.ResultsFemale students reported higher psychological distress than male students in both data collection periods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, students scored significantly (p < 0.001) higher in depression and paranoid ideation, and they scored significantly (p = 0.01) lower in hostility and anxiety compared with the pre-pandemic period. Female gender and the experience of physical or psychological abuse significantly increased the risk of reporting higher scores in depression and paranoid ideation symptoms during 2020. Moderate and frequent physical activities were significantly and negatively associated with depression (p = 0.003 and p = 0.004; respectively).ConclusionsThis study confirms the stressful impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Moroccan high school students, who reported more symptoms of depression and paranoid ideation compared with the pre-COVID-19 period. Female students reported higher psychological distress than male students did. The experience of physical /psychological abuse during the pandemic worsened mental health, while moderate/frequent physical activity improved it.

The COVID-19 Pandemic and Adolescents’ Psychological Distress: A Multinational Cross-Sectional Study

“…In addition to these recent studies on adult health, many researchers have investigated the effects of COVID-19 restrictions on children and adolescents, as they are more vulnerable to environmental stress and often have a more limited understanding of stressful situations and fewer strategies than adults to cope with sudden changes [ 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 ]. For instance, Meherali et al [ 19 ] reviewed 18 studies with a total number of 20,150 children and adolescents from five countries, (i.e., Australia, Canada, China, Italy, and the USA) and concluded that COVID-19 restrictions had a great impact on the mental health of children and adolescents, causing anxiety, depression, disturbances in sleep and appetite, and impairment of social interactions.…”

“…According to recent studies, the prevalence of depression in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic is higher than it was before the pandemic [ 8 , 20 , 22 , 23 , 36 , 37 ]. For instance, Serra et al [ 37 ] reported that approximately 24% of children and adolescents in Italy reported typical depressive symptoms, such as depressed mood, physical symptoms, and negative self-esteem.…”

“…Furthermore, such relatively high anxiety rates have also been observed in other countries, such as Brazil (19.4%) [ 45 ] and Canada (39%) [ 15 ]. Interestingly, in a recent study that investigated anxiety in Moroccan high schoolers, Mzadi et al [ 20 ] found that these students had lower anxiety compared with the pre-pandemic period. When examining the relationship between anxiety and emotional awareness, Smirni et al [ 43 ] found that anxiety did not seem to be associated with emotional awareness and management, which supports the hypothesis that the COVID-19 pandemic and its preventive measures increased the anxiety rate.…”

“…A recent study by Mzadi et al [ 20 ] investigated psychoticism in Moroccan adolescents. They found that there was only a negligible difference between students’ psychoticism measurements before and during COVID-19.…”

“…Differences in paranoid ideation among adolescents before and during COVID-19 in Morocco were also investigated by Mzadi et al [ 20 ]. Specifically, these authors found a significant difference in paranoid ideation between the two groups of adolescents, suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic and government measures could have negatively impacted Moroccan adolescents.…”