Understanding the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth Psychopathology: Genotype–Environment Interplay

Abstract

Background Adversity has consistently been found to predict poor mental health outcomes in youth. Perhaps the most omnipresent form of adversity in the last several decades is the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, a global health crisis linked to elevated rates of numerous forms of youth psychopathology. The ongoing nature of the pandemic renders it critical to identify the mechanisms underlying its effects on mental health. Methods The current study examines pandemic-related disruption across multiple domains (e.g., home life, finances) as an etiologic moderator of several common forms of youth psychopathology. Participants were 637 adolescent twin pairs from the Twin Study of Behavioral and Emotional Development in Children (TBED-C). Mothers reported on disruption experienced by the family using the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory. Results A series of biometric genotype-environment interaction models revealed that disruption augmented the nonshared environmental contributions to emotional distress and conduct problems, but had little effect on the etiology of attention-deficit hyperactivity problems. Conclusions Our results indicate that identical and fraternal twin similarity in both emotional symptoms and conduct problems decreased with greater disruption, such that children in the same family became less alike, and did so regardless of their degree of genetic resemblance . Put differently, each twin sibling appeared to have their own idiosyncratic experience of pandemic-related disruptions, with downstream consequences for their mental health.

Genetic and environmental influences on quality of life: The COVID‐19 pandemic as a natural experiment

“…A striking finding was the large increase in unique environmental variance—estimates of E more than doubled—during the pandemic, which resulted in a decreased heritability, indicating an increase of the relative importance of unique environmental factors. Similar results were found in a large etiological study by Carroll and colleagues showing that unique environmental influences were amplified for emotional symptoms and conduct problems in youth (but not for attention‐deficit hyperactivity problems) as a result of pandemic‐relation disruption among multiple life domains 36 . This phenomenon, where the total genetic/environmental variance is dependent on the environment, in this case pandemic‐related environmental change, is reflective of quantitative gene–environment interaction (GxE).…”

“…Similar results were found in a large etiological study by Carroll and colleagues showing that unique environmental influences were amplified for emotional symptoms and conduct problems in youth (but not for attention‐deficit hyperactivity problems) as a result of pandemic‐relation disruption among multiple life domains. 36 This phenomenon, where the total genetic/environmental variance is dependent on the environment, in this case pandemic‐related environmental change, is reflective of quantitative gene–environment interaction (GxE). Our quantitative GxE finding is in line with the bioecological model that postulates that genetic influences are maximized in stable and adaptive environments, and non‐shared environmental influences are greatest in more ‘risky’ environments.…”

Remaja Jompo: Diskursus dan Praktik Gaya Hidup Pandemi

“…Artinya, secara esensial kesehatan jasmani secara keseluruhan mengakomodir semua aspek kesehatan untuk umat manusia. Aspek lain yang secara masif menjadi perhatian para sarjana adalah tentang kesehatan mental yang sangat krusial di tengah pandemi (Carroll et al 2021;Rousseau and Miconi 2020). Di samping beragam riset hal ihwal kesehatan mental di atas, problem kesehatan fisik secara khusus dikontekstualisasikan ke ranah pemuda, misalkan menyangkut aspek-aspek physical health promotion (Mitra et al 2021), public health model (Gordon, Klose, and Lyttle Storrod 2021), multisystem resilience (Masten and Motti-Stefanidi 2020), dan kesadaran tentang isu-isu kesehatan yang dipersiapkan untuk future generations (Blom et al 2021).…”

“…Satu di antara pengaruh pandemi yang krusial terjadi pada dunia pendidikan di mana sistem pembelajaran berubah secara masif-dari tatap muka ke kelas daring. Selain problem-problem teknis yang menyertai (seperti ketidaksiapan sistem dan lembaga pendidikan dengan perangkat dan fasilitas yang ada), aspek-aspek lain yang tidak kalah urgen adalah masalah psikologis dan kesehatan yang membuat situasi sosial masyarakat semakin kalut (Carroll et al 2021;Rousseau and Miconi 2020). Di perguruan tinggi sendiri, pengalaman di tengah pandemi dengan tuntutan kuliah daring telah mengubah situasi dan kondisi baik material maupun non-material di kampus.…”

Introduction to Special Issue on COVID-19 and Mental Health

“…Specifically, Carroll et al. ( 21 ) provide what may be the first behavioral genetic twin design study examining gene-by-environment interactions in response to a natural disaster. Their novel and important findings illustrate that the occurrence of the pandemic actually augmented individual nonshared environment contributions to both emotional symptoms and conduct problems in youth relative to shared familial environment and genetic contributions.…”