The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Anxiety of Adolescents in Québec

Abstract

Background Several studies conducted since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic have shown its harmful effects on young people’s mental health. In Québec and Canada, few studies have focussed on adolescents, and even fewer of these studies have examined this subject using a methodology that involved comparisons of data obtained before and during the pandemic, which is the purpose of this study. Objective The objective of this study is to determine the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the anxiety of secondary 1 and 2 students in Québec, using data obtained before and during the pandemic. Method Participants were 2990 French Canadian students in secondary 1 (grade 7) and secondary 2 (grade 8) in Québec. Two independent samples completed the questionnaires, one sample before the pandemic (fall 2019) and one sample during the pandemic (fall 2020). Their answers were subjected to descriptive analysis and multivariate analysis of variance. Results Results show that the pandemic has had variable impacts on the student’s mental health, with some of them reporting negative effects on their lives, others reporting no effect, and some reporting positive effect. However, the students surveyed during the pandemic generally reported more symptoms of generalized anxiety, and higher levels of test anxiety, fear of judgment and perfectionism than the ones surveyed before the pandemic. Conclusions The discussion puts forward possible explanations for the results obtained, which contribute to a better understanding of young adolescents’ experience during the COVID-19 pandemic. It also discusses the importance of developing interventions for adolescents affected by this pandemic.

The effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on French‐Canadian adolescents' academic motivation: A follow‐up study

“…In sum, the results of this follow‐up study seem to be less situational and may reflect potential chronic effects of the COVID‐19 pandemic on adolescents' academic motivation. The findings are in line with several recent studies indicating that youth experienced a decrease in motivation toward schoolwork 10,11 as well as high levels of distress during the COVID‐19 pandemic 12‐18 . Consequently, it is likely that they had difficulties engaging in activities that, in normal circumstances, were salient to them.…”

“…That being said, and as highlighted by Klootwijk et al, 10 it is difficult to determine whether such motivational changes are due to the COVID‐19 pandemic, especially since students' motivation tends to decline within a school year and across grade levels 1‐4 . However, as we already pointed out, several recent studies revealed that adolescents' mental health has been negatively impacted by the COVID‐19 pandemic 12‐18 and our findings leave to think that their motivational resources were also impacted.…”

“…The findings are in line with several recent studies indicating that youth experienced a decrease in motivation toward schoolwork 10,11 as as high levels of distress during the COVID-19 pandemic. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18] Consequently, it is likely that they had difficulties engaging in activities that, in normal circumstances, were salient to them. It remains to be seen if these negative effects on adolescents' motivational resources will persist in time.…”

Impact of School and Peer Connectedness on Adolescent Mental Health and Well-Being Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Panel Survey

“…The majority of studies to date are either cross-sectional or involve online convenience samples that demonstrate change in mental health and well-being during the course of the pandemic [ 9 , 14 ]. Studies have also used historical data to predict mental health outcomes during the pandemic [ 15 ] as well as independent samples to provide pre-pandemic comparisons [ 16 ]. Although these studies have provided valuable early insights, the convenience and non-probability samples are likely to contain substantial bias [ 17 ].…”

New Evidence of Changes in Students’ Achievement Motivation in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…It is di cult to determine whether these changes are due to the pandemic, especially since motivation tends to decline as students progress through grades (Fredricks & Eccles, 2002;Jacobs et al, 2002;Paulick et al, 2013;Watt, 2004). However, as we already pointed out, several recent studies revealed that students' mental health has been negatively impacted by this pandemic (Guimond et al, 2021;Lane et al, 2021;Rogers et al, 2021;Rothe et al, 2021;Tang et al, 2021;Tardif-Grenier et al, 2021;Vaillancourt et al, 2021) and these ndings leave to think that their motivational resources were also negatively impacted.…”