Artikel
Adolescents’ perception of the COVID-19 pandemic measures and associated loneliness, multiple health complaints and life satisfaction: gender, age and socioeconomic differences in 22 countries
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Autoren
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Franziska Reiß
- Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, -psychotherapie und -psychosomatik, Hamburg, Germany
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Alina Cosma
- Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
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Michela Bersia
- University of Torino, Torino, Italy
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Michael Erhart
- Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, -psychotherapie und -psychosomatik, Hamburg, Germany; Alice Salomon Hochschule Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Paola Dalmasso
- University of Torino, Torino, Italy
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Janine Devine
- Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, -psychotherapie und -psychosomatik, Hamburg, Germany
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Sabina Hulbert
- University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
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Carolina Catunda
- University of Luxembourg, Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg
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Inese Gobinah
- Riga Stradiņ\u353 ? University, Riga, Latvia
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Ariela Giladi
- Bar Ilan University, Ramat Gan, Israel; Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
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Helena Jeri\u269 ?ek-Klan\u353 ?\u269 ?ek
- National Institute of Public Health, Ljubljana, Slovenia
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Ulrike Ravens-Sieberer
- Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Klinik für Kinder- und Jugendpsychiatrie, -psychotherapie und -psychosomatik, Hamburg, Germany
| Veröffentlicht: | 6. September 2024 |
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Gliederung
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Introduction: The COVID-19-pandemic has had a profound impact on the lives of adolescents worldwide. In our study, we examine the subjective perception of the COVID-19 pandemic measures and its association with loneliness, life satisfaction and multiple health complaints among 13- and 15-years-old adolescents from 22 countries.
Method: Data from the cross-national Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study was used from representative samples of 22 countries (N=67,544; 51.9% girls). Data collection was conducted in 2021/22. Adolescents perception of the COVID-19 measures comprised 10 items asking about impact on several dimensions of adolescent lives (e.g., relationships with family and friends, health, or eating behaviours). Measures of loneliness, multiple health complaints, and life satisfaction were included as indicators of mental health. A non-parametric multilevel latent class analysis considering individual and country-levels was conducted to identify classes of self-perceived impact of the COVID-19 measures. Multilevel logistic regression models adjusted by age and socioeconomic status were applied to assess the association between COVID-19 measure impact classes and mental health.
Results: Three classes were identified on individual level encompassing a neutral (51%), positive (31%), or negative (18%) perception of COVID-19 measures. A third of the adolescents reported a positive impact of the pandemic measures. The distribution of classes was heterogeneous within and across countries. In Germany, the majority of respondents rated the effects of the coronavirus measures as neutral (56.6%) or positive (31.3%), which is in line with the international findings. Within the positive COVID-19 measure impact class, social relationships were the most important dimension, whereas mental health problems were mostly represented within the negative COVID-19 measure impact class. Girls with a negative perception of pandemic measures showed higher levels of loneliness and multiple health complaints and lower life satisfaction. 15-year-old adolescents and those with a low socioeconomic status reported higher levels of loneliness and lower life satisfaction.
Conclusion: The majority of adolescents perceived the pandemic measures as neutral or positive. Girls, 15-year-old adolescents, and those with a low socioeconomic status were at higher risk of suffering from pandemic measures and associated problems of loneliness, multiple health complaints, and low life satisfaction. We conclude that adolescents (mental) health should be considered in the decision-making process by ensuring that the unique challenges of adolescents are adequately addressed in policies.
The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
The authors declare that a positive ethics committee vote has been obtained.
