Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada; Department of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Bloorview Research Institute, Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital and University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Disabil Health J. 2021 Oct;14(4):101113. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2021.101113. Epub 2021 May 12.
The Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic has greatly impacted people's mental health. Youth with disabilities are at particular risk for the psychological implications of the pandemic. Although much attention has been given to pandemic-related mental health challenges that youth have encountered, little is known about the facilitators for coping with the stresses of the pandemic and how this varies for youth with and without disabilities.
The purpose of this study was to understand facilitators for helping youth and young adults with and without disabilities to cope and maintain mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This qualitative study involved in-depth interviews with 34 youth and young adults (17 with a disability; 17 without), aged 16-29 (mean age 23.2). A narrative, thematic analysis of the transcripts was performed.
Our findings revealed several similarities and some differences between youth and young adults with and without disabilities regarding facilitators for maintaining mental health during the pandemic. Enablers of coping included: (1) social support; (2) financial support, (3) keeping busy (i.e., having a daily routine, working to keep the mind occupied, volunteering to boost mental health, focusing on school work), and (4) work-life balance (i.e., reduced commute, more time for exercising, going outdoors, cooking, sleeping better, and reflection on life's purpose).
Our findings highlight how having coping strategies could help to youth and young adults deal with pandemic-related stress. Youth with disabilities may need some additional support in accessing resources, exercising and going outdoors to help enhance their coping strategies.
冠状病毒病（COVID-19）大流行极大地影响了人们的心理健康。残疾青年特别容易受到大流行带来的心理影响。尽管人们已经关注到青年在大流行期间所遇到的与心理健康有关的挑战，但对于应对大流行压力的促进因素以及残疾青年和非残疾青年之间如何存在差异的了解甚少。
本研究的目的是了解有助于残疾青年和非残疾青年应对和保持 COVID-19 大流行期间心理健康的促进因素。
本定性研究采用深入访谈法，对 34 名 16-29 岁（平均年龄 23.2 岁）的青年和年轻成人（17 名残疾，17 名非残疾）进行了访谈。对转录本进行了叙事性主题分析。
我们的研究结果表明，残疾青年和非残疾青年在维持大流行期间心理健康的促进因素方面存在一些相似之处和一些差异。应对促进因素包括：（1）社会支持；（2）经济支持；（3）保持忙碌（即，有日常惯例，工作使头脑保持忙碌，志愿服务以促进心理健康，专注于学业）；（4）工作与生活的平衡（即，减少通勤，更多时间锻炼、户外活动、烹饪、睡眠更好、反思人生目的）。
我们的研究结果强调了拥有应对策略如何帮助青年和年轻成人应对与大流行相关的压力。残疾青年可能需要一些额外的支持来获取资源、锻炼和户外活动，以帮助他们增强应对策略。
