“My Life during the Lockdown”: Emotional Experiences of European Adolescents during the COVID-19 Crisis

Abstract

This study investigates, using an online self-report questionnaire, adolescents’ emotional reactions during the lockdown in a sample of 2105 secondary school students (aged 14–19) in Italy, Romania, and Croatia. We used a self-reported online questionnaire (answers on a 5-point scale or binary), composed of 73 questions investigating the opinions, feelings, and emotions of teenagers, along with sociodemographic information and measures of the exposure to lockdown. The survey was conducted online through a web platform in Italy (between 27 April and 15 June 2020), Romania, and Croatia (3 June and 2 July 2020). Students aged >14 years, living in a small flat, and not spending time outside were more likely to report anger, sadness, boredom/emptiness, and anxiety. Boys were significantly less likely than girls to report all measured emotional reactions. Those who lost someone from COVID-19 were more than twice as likely to experience anger compared to those who did not. Our findings may help identifying adolescents more likely to report negative emotional reactions during the COVID-19 pandemic and inform public health strategies for improving mental health among adolescents during/after the COVID-19 crisis.

Loneliness in Young Adults During the First Wave of COVID-19 Lockdown: Results From the Multicentric COMET Study

“…Loneliness and its related negative feelings are thought to be particularly pronounced during adolescence and young adulthood (39) because of the many social and personal changes that young people deal with during this period of life (40)(41)(42)(43). Loneliness itself has been referred to as an epidemic, and there have been heightened concerns about its effects during the COVID-19 pandemic (8,(44)(45)(46). Therefore, it is essential to evaluate the type of impact of the pandemic and the levels of loneliness experienced by young people (47).…”

A narrative review into the impact of COVID‐19 pandemic on senior high school adolescent mental health

“…The pandemic causes teenagers to experience increased emotional reactions. Teenagers often report boredom, sadness, and fatigue (Esposito et al, 2021 ; Forte et al, 2021 ). Emotional reactions occur more frequently in female adolescents than in male adolescents.…”

“…Emotional reactions occur more frequently in female adolescents than in male adolescents. Meanwhile, adolescents living in rural areas experience fewer emotional reactions than adolescents in urban areas (Esposito et al, 2021 ; Forte et al, 2021 ). Interestingly, teenagers who were out of the homeless were significantly more likely to feel angry (Forte et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Meanwhile, adolescents living in rural areas experience fewer emotional reactions than adolescents in urban areas (Esposito et al, 2021 ; Forte et al, 2021 ). Interestingly, teenagers who were out of the homeless were significantly more likely to feel angry (Forte et al, 2021 ). Relationships between adolescents and their families that are not good will increase the emergence of emotional reactions, whereas family support will reduce the emotional reactions of adolescents.…”

“…Relationships between adolescents and their families that are not good will increase the emergence of emotional reactions, whereas family support will reduce the emotional reactions of adolescents. The increased use of social media also impacts the possibility of experiencing boredom (Forte et al, 2021 ). During the COVID‐19 pandemic, high school teenagers are also at risk of experiencing phobias, and females have a three times higher risk than males (Bilginer et al, 2021 ).…”