How Adolescents’ Lives Were Disrupted Over the Course of the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Investigation in 12 Cultural Groups in 9 Nations from March 2020 to July 2022

• Main Authors: Rothenberg, W. Andrew, Skinner, Ann T., Lansford, Jennifer E., Bacchini, Dario, Bornstein, Marc H, Chang, Lei, Deater-Deckard, Kirby, Di Guinta, Laura, Dodge, Kenneth A., Alampay, Liane Peña, Gurdal, Sevtap, Junla, Daranee, Liu, Qin, Long, Qian, Oburu, Paul, Pastorelli, Concetta, Sorbring, Emma, Steinberg, Laurence, Uribe Tirado, Liliana Maria, Yotanyamaneewong, Saengduean, Al-Hassan, Suha
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2024
• Subjects: COVID-19; Adolescence; Cross-cultural; Longitudinal; Risk factors; Child Psychology; Developmental Psychology; International Public Health; Maternal and Child Health
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/psychology-faculty-pubs/450; https://doi.org/10.1017/s0954579423001621
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

It is unclear how much adolescents' lives were disrupted throughout the COVID-19 pandemic or what risk factors predicted such disruption. To answer these questions, 1,080 adolescents in 9 nations were surveyed 5 times from March 2020 to July 2022. Rates of adolescent COVID-19 life disruption were stable and high. Adolescents who, compared to their peers, lived in nations with higher national COVID-19 death rates, lived in nations with less stringent COVID-19 mitigation strategies, had less confidence in their government's response to COVID-19, complied at higher rates with COVID-19 control measures, experienced the death of someone they knew due to COVID-19, or experienced more internalizing, externalizing, and smoking problems reported more life disruption due to COVID-19 during part or all of the pandemic. Additionally, when, compared to their typical levels of functioning, adolescents experienced spikes in national death rates, experienced less stringent COVID-19 mitigation measures, experienced less confidence in government response to the COVID-19 pandemic, complied at higher rates with COVID-19 control measures, experienced more internalizing problems, or smoked more at various periods during the pandemic, they also experienced more COVID-19 life disruption. Collectively, these findings provide new insights that policymakers can use to prevent the disruption of adolescents' lives in future pandemics.