Socioeconomic inequality in the worsening of psychosocial wellbeing via disrupted social conditions during COVID-19 among adolescents in Hong Kong: self-resilience matters

Abstract

BackgroundAdolescents, especially the socioeconomically disadvantaged, are facing devastating psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during their critical developmental period. This study aims to (i) examine the socioeconomic patterning of the worsening of psychosocial wellbeing, (ii) delineate the underlying mediating factors (i.e., overall worry about COVID-19, family's financial difficulty, learning problems, and loneliness), and (iii) explore the moderating effect of resilience in the inter-relationship among adolescents under COVID-19.MethodsBased on maximum variation sampling of 12 secondary schools of diverse socioeconomic background in Hong Kong, 1018 students aged 14-16 years were recruited and completed the online survey between September and October 2021. Multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) by resilience levels was employed to delineate the pathways between socioeconomic position and the worsening of psychosocial wellbeing.ResultsSEM analysis showed a significant total effect of socioeconomic ladder with the worsening of psychosocial wellbeing during the pandemic in the overall sample (β = −0.149 [95% CI = −0.217 – −0.081], p < 0.001), which operated indirectly through learning problems and loneliness (both p < 0.001 for their indirect effects). Consistent pattern with stronger effect size was observed in the lower resilience group; nonetheless, the associations were substantially mitigated in the higher resilience group.ConclusionIn addition to facilitating self-directed learning and easing loneliness during the pandemic, evidence-based strategies to build up resilience among adolescents are critical to buffer against the adverse socioeconomic and psychosocial impacts of the pandemic or other potential catastrophic events in the future.

Scoping Review of Self-Directed Online Learning, Public School Students’ Mental Health, and COVID-19 in Noting Positive Psychosocial Outcomes with Self-Initiated Learning

“…Equaling 12, by far the greatest number of included articles that were returned, as evident from Table 1, were those that found self-directed learning, online learning, and mental health negative for public school students during COVID-19. These publications are on the following topics: learning in isolation [67]; High school student-athlete experiences [68]; Self-directed learning and attitude on online learning [69]; School connectedness still matters [70]; Implementation and challenges of online education [71]; Student evaluations of transitioned-online courses [72]; The impact of learning on science, social, and digital literacy [73]; A comparison of online learning challenges [74]; "Teachers act like we're robots" [75]; Socioeconomic inequality [76]; High school physical education teachers' perceptions [77]; and The home-school linkage [78].…”

“…A paper focusing on socioeconomic inequities during COVID-19 [76] found that students from lower socioeconomic living conditions lacking resilience necessarily had a negative response to self-directed learning and online learning, and had their mental health suffer during COVID-19. Students from other socioeconomic brackets similarly required resilience to overcome problems in these three areas but they were more likely to demonstrate it during the pandemic.…”