Cortés-García L, Hernández Ortiz J, Asim N, Sales M, Villareal R, Penner F, Sharp C
PROMENTA Research Center, Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
Department of Psychology, University of Houston, Houston, TX United States.
Child Youth Care Forum. 2022;51(4):769-793. doi: 10.1007/s10566-021-09653-x. Epub 2021 Sep 28.
Growing evidence informs about the detrimental impact that COVID-19 has had on youths' mental health and well-being. As of yet, no study has directly examined the experiences and perspectives of children and young adolescents from racial and ethnic minority groups in the U.S., despite being exposed to more adversity, which may affect coping with the many challenges posed by the pandemic.
This study aimed to give voice to a mostly Hispanic/Latinx group of youth regarding the impact of COVID-19 stay-at-home measures and to identify their emotional responses and coping strategies amid the pandemic in the U.S. when restrictions were at their hardest.
A total of 17 youths (70.6 % Hispanic; age range = 10-14 years; 52.9 % female) participated in four virtual semi-structured focus groups for each grade level (grades 5-8). Data was transcribed and analyzed using a gold standard thematic analysis approach.
Seven themes were identified concerning the impact of COVID-19, centering around the impact of racism, loss of income, the role of community and family in coping with stress, information overload, home-schooling, loneliness and boredom, and lack of structured routines.
Our findings suggest that cultural factors (e.g., collectivism and familism) in Hispanic communities may offer important buffering during COVID-19. Future research studies evaluating the implementation of structured programs that provide a space to talk about emotions and thoughts related to the impact of the pandemic and training in strategies to cope with distress during mandatory home-schooling are needed.
越来越多的证据表明，新冠疫情对青少年的心理健康和幸福产生了不利影响。截至目前，尚无研究直接考察美国少数族裔儿童和青少年的经历与观点，尽管他们面临更多逆境，而这可能影响应对疫情带来的诸多挑战。
本研究旨在让一个主要为西班牙裔/拉丁裔的青少年群体表达新冠疫情居家措施的影响，并确定在美国疫情限制最严格期间，他们在疫情中的情绪反应和应对策略。
共有17名青少年（70.6%为西班牙裔；年龄范围为10 - 14岁；52.9%为女性）参与了针对每个年级（5 - 8年级）的四个虚拟半结构化焦点小组。数据采用金标准主题分析方法进行转录和分析。
确定了七个关于新冠疫情影响的主题，围绕种族主义的影响、收入损失、社区和家庭在应对压力中的作用、信息过载、在家上学、孤独与无聊以及缺乏结构化日常安排。
我们的研究结果表明，西班牙裔社区的文化因素（如集体主义和家庭主义）在新冠疫情期间可能提供重要的缓冲作用。未来需要开展研究，评估实施结构化项目的情况，这些项目能提供一个空间来谈论与疫情影响相关的情绪和想法，并在强制在家上学期间提供应对困扰的策略培训。
