The world is coming to an end! COVID-19, depression, and anxiety among adolescents in Malawi

Abstract

IntroductionThis paper assessed the effects of Covid-19 on adolescent mental health in Malawi. There is minimal research on adolescent mental health in Africa, Malawi in particular. The study shows a link between the pandemic and mental health. Some factors that may have contributed to this link include; Covid-19 preventive measures, media exposure and the increase in unemployment.MethodsThe study used a mixed methods approach, quantitative and qualitative methods. It was conducted in Malawi's four districts (Blantyre, Mangochi, Lilongwe and Karonga).ResultsOverall 22%, 21%, and 23% of the respondents had depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder, respectively. The Chi-square test showed that significantly more adolescents with secondary education (28%) had anxiety than those with primary education (14%). Further, regression analysis revealed that adolescents with anxiety were 18 [95%CI: 9.34, 35.8] times more likely to have depression compared to those who did not have anxiety. The study found no significant differences in the proportions of adolescents with the three outcomes when comparing different groups within the explanatory variable. The ratio of female and male adolescents with depression and anxiety was the same.DiscussionThe adolescents expressed that Covid-19 affected their social, academic, and financial status. These effects had a significant bearing on their mental health in that they led to depression, anxiety, fear of the unknown, and stress. During the Covid-19 pandemic, adolescents' mental health diminished and posed a considerable risk to productivity of adolescents. As a result, adolescents may not fully realize their potential, form and maintain good relationships, contribute to their community and become resilient. These effects have devastating consequences for this young generation without proper coping strategies.

The mental health toll among healthcare workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Malawi

“…To assess the mental health status of participants, the study utilised the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) and the Primary Care Post Traumatic Symptom Disorder Screen for DSM-5 (PC-PTSD-5). The three questionnaires have been used in various populations as brief screening measures for depression and anxiety 24 , 25 . Additionally, the PHQ-9 has been used before in Malawi 26 .…”

Mental health in selected MENA countries during COVID-19: an empirical investigation

“…Having a history of mental illness and medical problems, being infected with a chronic disease, and having an infected relative with Covid-19 increased the severity of mental disorders during the pandemic (Mazza et al, 2020). Also, attaining higher levels of education were found to have an adverse effect on mental health (Mmanga et al, 2023). Students were found to be among the most affected population groups due to a wide variety of reasons related to the fear of losing loved ones, lack of activity, worries about finances and future jobs in addition to taking care of families.…”

“…Across different countries, mental health was found to have worsened during the pandemic, however the mental stressors and individuals' characteristics suffering from mental disorders have differed. Although anxiety and depression were found to be key stressors that affected the mental health of individuals in most studies (Cayo-Rojas, 2021;Lee et al, 2021;Mmanga et al, 2023;Verma, 2020;Villatoro et al, 2022;Wang et al, 2020;Zhang and Ma, 2020), other stressors included loneliness (Chandola et al, 2020;Lee et al, 2021) and stress (Ma et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2020).…”

“…Age and gender were found to be key factors that were associated with suffering from mental disorders in most studies where females and youth were found to be affected by the pandemic more than men and the elderly (Davico et al, 2021;Mmanga et al, 2023;Qiu et al, 2020;Wang et al, 2020). However, no significant impact was found for age and gender on the mental health of 403 Peruvian dentistry students by Cayo-Rojas et al (2021).…”

Social media use for coping with stress and psychological adjustment: A transactional model of stress and coping perspective

“…In the post-COVID world, many countries have lifted COVID-19-related policies, and most have returned to their pre-pandemic lifestyles, such as Israel ( Keisari et al, 2022 ) and Thailand ( Suksatan et al, 2022 ). While this hints toward some resolution of the epidemiologic crisis caused by COVID-19, the mental health crisis of COVID-19 may have a lasting impact on people’s health ( Mmanga et al, 2023 ). Studies have demonstrated that COVID-19 can result in a wide range of psychological issues, such as anxiety ( Lee et al, 2020 ) and depression ( Mahmud et al, 2021 ).…”