Risk and Protective Factors for Prospective Changes in Adolescent Mental Health during the COVID-19 Pandemic

In the paper

“One study surveyed 1738 Chinese participants at two time points following the commencement of the pandemic and found no significant changes across time in depression, anxiety and stress over the study period (Wang et al. 2020).”

What the sources say

• Disputed

  Methods §2.1 describes a cross-sectional survey, and Results §3.2 reports 1,210 completed questionnaires—not 1,738 participants surveyed twice. The Discussion explicitly says the authors could not conduct a prospective study of the same participants, so this paper cannot establish whether depression, anxiety, or stress changed over time. (LLM, conf=0.93)

  Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.

  cites Wang et al. 2020 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“However, there was some indication that younger people (aged 12–21 years) perceived the impact of COVID-19 to be greater than older adults (aged 50–59 years).”

What the sources say

• Disputed

  Section 3.3 (page unavailable) says age was not associated with psychological-impact scores. It reports higher scores for students than employed respondents, but does not find that people aged 12–21 experienced greater impact than those aged 50–59. (LLM, conf=0.87)

  Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.

  cites Wang et al. 2020 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“This is due in part, to the physical and chemical changes occurring in the brain from early adolescence, which result in a ‘neural mismatch’ whereby emotionality is heightened in response to real and/or perceived stressors (Bailen et al. 2019), yet the self-regulatory system required to manage these emotions remains largely underdeveloped until early adulthood (Somerville et al. 2010).”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Bailen et al. 2019 source
• Partly supported

  In “Brain mechanisms of reduced top-down control over responses to salient cues in adolescents” (page not provided), the paper says prefrontal regulatory control remains relatively immature during adolescence compared with adulthood. It does not establish that the self-regulatory system remains largely underdeveloped until early adulthood, the specific endpoint attributed to this source. (LLM, conf=0.84)

  cites Somerville et al. 2010 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“Government restrictions put in place to slow the spread of the virus have led to widespread social isolation, which can have profound consequences for mental health (Brooks et al. 2020).”

What the sources say

• Supported

  The Introduction describes entire cities placed under mass quarantine during the COVID-19 outbreak. The ‘Frustration and boredom’ section links confinement and reduced social contact to distress, and the Conclusion describes quarantine’s psychological impact as substantial. The review cautions that findings from smaller quarantined groups should be applied to citywide measures cautiously; the claim’s ‘can have’ wording is consistent with that limit. No page numbers are provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.86)

  cites Brooks et al. 2020 source

In the paper

“Another defining characteristic of adolescence is the marked increase in social sensitivity and the importance of peers (Somerville 2013). As adolescents strive for independence from their parents, the time spent with peers increases dramatically, and for the first time, friends rather than parents become the primary source of interaction and influence (Meuwese et al. 2017).”

What the sources say

• Supported

  The Abstract describes the heightened importance of peer relationships in adolescence, and the Conclusions describe heightened sensitivity to social evaluation. The statement about friends becoming the primary source of interaction and influence is separately cited to Meuwese et al. (2017), so it is not assessed as a claim attributed to Somerville. (LLM, conf=0.94)

  cites Somerville 2013 source
• Partly supported

  The paper’s introductory passage (indexed under Abstract; page unavailable) says adolescents spend increasingly more time with peers and have greater social exposure to friends than in early childhood. It does not say that this increase is dramatic, link it to independence from parents, or establish that friends become the primary source of interaction and influence rather than parents. The separate statement about social sensitivity is cited to Somerville, not to this paper. (LLM, conf=0.87)

  cites Meuwese et al. 2017 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“Beliefs about the ease of virus transmission and increased media exposure to health information about COVID-19 were significantly associated with depression and/or anxiety at both time points.”

What the sources say

• Partly supported

  Section 3.10 (page not provided) reports associations between requests for COVID-19 health information and lower anxiety or depression scores. But the Methods describe one survey from 31 January to 2 February 2020, not two waves; the cited results do not establish associations at both time points, or an association for beliefs about how easily the virus spreads. Requests for information are also not the same as increased media exposure. (LLM, conf=0.86)

  cites Wang et al. 2020 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“A meta-analysis of 13 studies of mental health among healthcare workers found that almost a quarter exhibited elevated COVID-19 related symptoms of anxiety (23.2%) and depression (22.8%), and more than a third (38.9%) experienced problems with insomnia (Pappa et al. 2020).”

What the sources say

• Partly supported

  The Results report 13 included studies, with pooled anxiety prevalence of 23.21% and depression prevalence of 22.8%. The Results > Insomnia prevalence section instead reports 34.32%, not 38.9%; only five of the 13 studies contributed insomnia data. (LLM, conf=0.94)

  cites Pappa et al. 2020 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“which is surprising considering the well-established sex differences in the prevalence and severity of depression and anxiety (Rose and Rudolph 2006).”

What the sources say

• Partly supported

  The passage labeled Abstract (page unavailable) summarizes consistent sex differences in emotional distress, saying girls experience more anxiety and depression than boys. It does not establish separate differences in the prevalence and severity of either condition; its discussion is primarily about distress and symptoms in youth. (LLM, conf=0.83)

  cites Rose and Rudolph 2006 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“Another study also found high levels of depression and anxiety in Chinese adolescents during the peak of the pandemic, although lower levels were reported among males and youth that regularly engaged in exercise (Chen et al. 2020).”

What the sources say

• Partly supported

  The study’s results (page not provided) report depression and anxiety cases among adolescents surveyed in Guiyang, China, in April 2020. Table 1 shows lower rates of both conditions among males and adolescents reporting regular physical exercise. The paper does not establish that the survey occurred at the pandemic’s peak or report lower mean symptom scores for those groups. (LLM, conf=0.86)

  cites Chen et al. 2020 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“research conducted among 1210 respondents during the early stages of the crisis in China found that more than half (53.8%) rated the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their psychological health as moderate to severe (Wang et al. 2020).”

What the sources say

• Supported

  The Abstract reports 1,210 respondents from China during the initial outbreak and states that 53.8% rated its psychological impact as moderate or severe. Results §3.2 likewise reports 651 respondents (53.8%) in those categories. (LLM, conf=0.95)

  cites Wang et al. 2020 source

In the paper

“In contrast, taking precautionary measures to avoid transmission (e.g., regular handwashing), complying with the stay-at-home orders, and low perceived likelihood of contracting and dying from COVID-19 were all found to be protective.”

What the sources say

• Partly supported

  Results §§3.8–3.9 (page unavailable) associate handwashing and other precautions with lower psychological distress, and low perceived likelihood of infection with lower stress and anxiety. They also associate low perceived likelihood of surviving infection with higher stress. But the paper reports how long respondents stayed home, not that complying with stay-at-home orders was psychologically protective; it also finds higher perceived likelihood of infection associated with a lower psychological-impact score. (LLM, conf=0.88)

  cites Wang et al. 2020 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“A second study in China reported COVID-19 related increases in generalized anxiety, which were found to be more pronounced in younger people (<35 years) compared to older age groups (Huang and Zhao 2020).”

What the sources say

• Partly supported

  The Results report that participants under 35 were more likely to have GAD during the outbreak than those 35 and older (adjusted odds ratio 1.65). That supports the age-group comparison, but not a comparison of increases: the Discussion says the cross-sectional study could not assess participants’ psychological conditions before the outbreak. (LLM, conf=0.88)

  cites Huang and Zhao 2020 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“The importance of feeling socially connected during the pandemic has been demonstrated previously when it was found that adolescents left alone at home all day reported significantly higher levels of depression and anxiety than those who were accompanied by a parent or relative (Chen et al. 2020).”

What the sources say

• Partly supported

  The Results table (Table 1) reports significantly higher percentages of depression and anxiety among adolescents not accompanied on a workday, and the discussion describes them as more likely to be depressed and anxious. The paper does not specify that the companion was a parent or relative, or establish that the adolescents were alone all day. (LLM, conf=0.86)

  cites Chen et al. 2020 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“these findings contrast with research in adults, as adults expressed the greatest concern over family members contracting COVID-19 (Wang et al. 2020).”

What the sources say

• Partly supported

  Results §3.8 reports that 75.2% of respondents worried about other family members contracting COVID-19, compared with 50.9% who worried about a child under 16. It does not establish that family infection was their greatest concern overall; the reported comparisons do not cover every concern. (LLM, conf=0.82)

  cites Wang et al. 2020 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“This is consistent with previous research which also found an association between that taking precautionary measures (e.g., staying at home, wearing a mask) to avoid contracting the virus and lower levels of depression and anxiety (Wang et al. 2020).”

What the sources say

• Partly supported

  Results §3.9 reports that wearing masks was associated with lower anxiety and depression scores, and the Discussion describes similar associations for several precautionary measures. The paper reports that most respondents stayed at home to avoid COVID-19, but does not report that staying home was associated with lower anxiety or depression. (LLM, conf=0.86)

  cites Wang et al. 2020 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“A recent study in China found that although greater depression and anxiety were associated with exposure to radio reports around COVID-19, the same effect was not found in relation to television and internet reports (Wang et al. 2020).”

What the sources say

• ?Could not verify

  Results §3.7 (page unavailable) says the Internet was the most common source of COVID-19 health information, but does not link any reporting channel to depression or anxiety. Searches for radio and television found no comparison of their associations with those outcomes. (LLM, conf=0.74)

  cites Wang et al. 2020 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“Although there is no clear explanation for the contradictory findings between the current and previous studies, some research suggests that associations between media exposure and internalizing distress are nuanced (Wang et al. 2020).”

What the sources say

• Partly supported

  Results §3.7 and the Discussion (page not provided) link satisfaction with COVID-19 health information to psychological distress and report that the Internet was the primary information channel. The Discussion also links particular types of information to lower stress or anxiety, consistent with a nuanced relationship. But the paper does not report an association between the amount or frequency of media exposure and distress. (LLM, conf=0.78)

  cites Wang et al. 2020 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“These findings are broadly consistent with those found in the current study in that social media posts about COVID-19 were not associated with changes in mental health, whereas reading and watching media reports were positively related to good mental health.”

What the sources say

• Partly supported

  Split into 2 atoms — 0 confirmed, 2 partially supported, 0 disputed, 0 misattributed, 0 unverifiable. Expand the claim to see per-atom verdicts.

  cites Wang et al. 2020 sourceExperimental — accuracy not yet measured

In the paper

“adherence to stay-at-home orders and feeling socially connected during the COVID-19 lockdown protected against poor mental health”

In the paper

“which was particularly pronounced among girls.”

• Also stated in: § Potential Moderating Factors · plain

  “4.19 | 0.017 | 2.18 | 1.81 (246) | 0.041”

In the paper

“which was particularly pronounced among girls.”

• Also stated in: § Potential Moderating Factors · plain

  “Sex | 9.00 | 0.035 | 2.18 | 6.64 (246) | 0.003”

In the paper

“The frequency of reading posts about COVID-19 on social media had no significant effect on changes in depressive symptoms, anxiety or life satisfaction.”

In the paper

“Those perceiving high levels of social connection during COVID-19 reported significantly fewer depressive symptoms and anxiety, and significantly more life satisfaction from T1 to T2 than those feeling socially disconnected during the lockdown period.”

In the paper

“Boys and girls were more similar on average levels of life satisfaction, exposure to COVID-19 related media, and attitudes toward the impact of COVID-19 on their schooling.”

In the paper

“The most commonly reported problems when learning online were related to technology problems, not understanding the learning materials, being unable to ask the teacher to explain the work, and problems with motivation.”

In the paper

“However, experiencing the abovementioned difficulties with online learning did significantly moderate change in depressive symptoms, with those who experienced problems reporting significantly more depressive symptoms during COVID-19, compared to those who experienced no problems with online learning.”

In the paper

“The current results also indicated that adolescents were not overly concerned with the impact that COVID-19 was having on their education, nor was this related to any of the mental health outcomes examined.”

In the paper

“COVID-19 related distress and feeling socially disconnected from others were most strongly related to all mental health symptoms, as well as being significantly associated with viewing posts about COVID-19 on social media, less motivation to study, a greater perceived negative impact on schooling, and greater conflict with siblings.”

In the paper

“This possibility is further supported by the finding that although half of the current sample reported an increase in conflict with their siblings, this was not associated with changes to their mental health during the lockdown period.”

In the paper

“As expected, on average girls reported more symptoms of depression and anxiety at both time points, whereas boys reported more familial conflict during the lockdown period.”

In the paper

“Consistent with theory highlighting the importance of peers during the adolescent period, the results showed that adolescents’ greatest concerns during the COVID-19 crisis were around the disruption to their social interactions and activities, whereas concerns around contracting or getting ill from the virus were very low.”

In the paper

“Finally, and encouragingly, learning exclusively online did not appear to impact adolescents’ mental health, whereas difficulties encountered during online learning did.”

In the paper

“In contrast, greater exposure to traditional media, adherence to government restrictions, and feeling socially connected with others was associated with less distress.”

In the paper

“Further, COVID-19 related concerns, spending less time on schoolwork and more time with friends was positively associated with depression, whereas spending more time with family was negatively associated.”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Ellis et al. 2020 source

In the paper

“In fact, this particular subset of internalizing disorders has previously been referred to as “disorders of adolescence” due to their typical median onset age of 13 to 19 years (Rapee et al. 2019).”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Rapee et al. 2019 source

In the paper

“Thus, negative peer interactions during this important developmental window can lead to poor self-concept, a low sense of worth, and subsequent increases in symptoms of anxiety and depression, whereas positive peer relationships can provide social and emotional support, which are known to protect against the risk of both depression and anxiety (La Greca and Harrison 2005).”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Connell and Wellborn 1991
• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites La Greca and Harrison 2005 source

In the paper

“In a study focused on youth, retrospective reports of mental health symptoms three months prior to the pandemic were compared to those three weeks into the pandemic among 622 Canadian adolescents and young adults (Hawke et al. 2020). Participants perceived reductions in their mental health across the period, particularly in depression/low mood and anxiety.”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Hawke et al. 2020 source

In the paper

“Social media use moderated the association between COVID-19 concerns and depression, with those reporting high levels of social media use also reporting the most depression.”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Ellis et al. 2020 source

In the paper

“COVID-19 related concerns were also positively associated with loneliness, while spending more time with family and friends, and engaging in more physical activity, was negatively associated.”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Ellis et al. 2020 source

In the paper

“Finally, as depression and anxiety are known to increase, and life satisfaction to decrease, from early adolescence onward (Goldbeck et al. 2007; Rapee et al. 2019), it is important to ensure that any potential prospective changes in mental health symptoms during COVID-19 are not simply due to age effects.”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Goldbeck et al. 2007 source
• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Rapee et al. 2019 source

In the paper

“Finally, a survey of 1054 Canadian adolescents (Mage = 16.68) found that adolescents were most concerned about the impact on their schooling, followed by general concerns about the COVID-19 crisis, and not feeling connected to friends (Ellis et al. 2020).”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Ellis et al. 2020 source

In the paper

“More importantly, the prospective collection of these data allows stronger conclusions to be drawn, that go beyond the perceived attributions of participants.”

In the paper

“The reliability of the measure was good in the current sample (α = 0.91 at T1 and 0.93 at T2).”

In the paper

“All other variables contained less than 1% missing data with the exception of the family conflict variables which had a “not applicable option” for family members not living within the same household. This resulted in non-responses of 3.2% for mother, 9.7% for father, and 7.7% for siblings.”

In the paper

“Previous research has also shown that the prevalence of internalizing disorders increases from early to mid-adolescence (Goldbeck et al. 2007).”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Goldbeck et al. 2007 source

In the paper

“The Cronbach’s alphas in the current study were high (α = 0.91 at T1 and 0.92 at T2).”

In the paper

“As shown in Table 1, most variables were normally distributed with no obvious skewedness (−0.81 to 1.72), although the kurtosis of values of depressive symptoms at T1 (2.21) and exposure to traditional media at T2 (3.76) fell slightly above the recommended values of plus or minus two (Gravetter et al. 2020).”

What the sources say

• ?Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

  cites Gravetter et al. 2020

In the paper

“Of the 467 adolescents invited to participate in the COVID-19 survey, 248 (53%) returned completed responses and thus comprised the current sample.”

In the paper

“Due to the small percentage of missing data, all analyses were conducted using pairwise deletion.”

In the paper

“The current study strengthens and builds upon this literature by demonstrating that living with the restrictions and concerns surrounding COVID-19 are related to not only increases in emotional distress but also with decreases in life satisfaction.”

In the paper

“The Cronbach’s alphas in the current study were acceptable (α = 0.86 at T1 and 0.87 at T2).”

In the paper

“The Cronbach’s alpha for the new scale was 0.91.”

In the paper

“This may be because the earlier research was carried out immediately following the switch to online learning whereas the current study assessed concerns two months after the initial change, providing students with the opportunity to adapt and settle into their new learning environment.”

In the paper

“These findings are inconsistent with previous work which found that one of adolescents’ most pressing COVID-19 related worries was the detriment to their education (Ellis et al. 2020).”

What the sources say

• ?Not checked — no full text of the sourcecites Ellis et al. 2020 source

In the paper

“However, the current study did not find any moderating effect of age, suggesting that the observed increase in mental health symptoms from T1 to T2 cannot be simply explained by these developmental differences, and may instead be due to the changing social, educational and economic climate as a result of COVID-19.”

In the paper

“Clearly a large proportion of adolescents are coping well with the impact of the pandemic, at least in the early stages, and most are showing minimal negative impact.”

In the paper

“Data coverage for T1 and T2 mental health variables was 99.6% to 100%, respectively.”

In the paper

“This demonstrates that adolescents can be resilient and adaptive when needed, as long as they are equipped with the necessary tools and support they require.”

In the paper

“Thus, this research contributes to the existing literature by demonstrating longitudinal declines in the mental health of adolescents, especially among girls, when comparing pre-pandemic to intra-pandemic levels.”

In the paper

“It may also be due to the younger age of the current cohort relative to those in the earlier study, most of whom were in senior school—a time when grades are important in determining acceptance into university and future occupational opportunities.”

In the paper

“As with all of the current results, the casual relationship may flow in either direction.”

In the paper

“The sample was predominately of Caucasian ethnicity and included participants within a restricted age range, and perhaps most importantly for a study of the impacts of COVID-19, data were collected within a single country (Australia)”

In the paper

“Finally, the sample used in the current study was relatively small and demographically restricted.”

In the paper

“Most of the online learning difficulties reported were modifiable and related to problems concerning technology, the understanding of learning materials, and being unable to ask the teacher for clarification.”