Pandemic Burnout, Depression, and Anxiety Among Adolescents: A Network Analysis

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic could be regarded as a chronic psychological burden that may lead to prolonged, unmanageable stress, e.g. burnout. Previous studies on COVID-19 have indicated that pandemic burnout was frequent in the general population and could beregarded as a risk factor for psychopathological symptomatology (e.g. depression, anxiety).This study used a network approach to investigate the associations between pandemic burnout symptoms and symptoms of depression and anxiety among Polish adolescents. A total of 389 adolescents participated in a survey in two stages: in June 2021 (shortly after students’ return to schools after the COVID-19 lockdowns were lifted; n = 181) and in September 2021 (shortly after the beginning of the new school year; n = 208). Data were collected by means of a survey aimed at measurement of anxiety, depression, and symptoms of COVID-19 burnout. The network analysis indicated that (1) pandemic burnout is rather a separate syndrome of symptoms compared to depression and anxiety; (2) emotional and mental exhaustion symptoms such as feelings of hopelessness andworthlessness were central to pandemic burnout; (3) the stability of the pandemic burnout symptoms was relatively low, indicating that this syndrome could be dynamic or internally heterogenic.