Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behavior, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, Netherlands.
Radboud University, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
PLoS One. 2022 Mar 18;17(3):e0264962. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0264962. eCollection 2022.
The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown pose a threat for adolescents' mental health, especially for those with an earlier vulnerability. Accordingly, these adolescents may need increased support from family and friends. This study investigated whether family functioning and peer connectedness protects adolescents with earlier internalizing or externalizing symptoms from increased depressive symptoms during the first Dutch COVID-19 lockdown in a low-risk community sample.
This sample comprised 115 adolescents (Mage = 13.06; 44% girls) and their parents (N = 111) and is part of an ongoing prospective study on child development. Internalizing and externalizing symptoms were self-reported a year before the COVID-19 lockdown. In an online survey during the first Dutch lockdown (April-May 2020), adolescents reported depressive symptoms and perceived peer connectedness, and parents reported family functioning.
Twenty-four percent of adolescents reported clinically relevant symptoms of depression during the first COVID-19 lockdown. Depressive symptoms were significantly predicted by earlier internalizing, but not externalizing symptoms. Furthermore, higher quality of family functioning, but not peer connectedness, predicted fewer adolescent depressive symptoms. Family functioning and peer connectedness did not moderate the link between pre-existing internalizing symptoms and later depressive symptoms.
In a low-risk community sample, one-in-four adolescents reported clinically relevant depressive symptoms at the first COVID-19 lockdown. Higher earlier internalizing symptoms and lower quality of family functioning increased risks. These results indicate that even in low-risk samples, a substantial group of adolescents and their families are vulnerable during times of crisis.
COVID-19 大流行和封锁对青少年的心理健康构成威胁，尤其是那些早期易受影响的青少年。因此，这些青少年可能需要来自家庭和朋友的更多支持。本研究调查了在荷兰首次 COVID-19 封锁期间，家庭功能和同伴联系是否可以保护那些有早期内化或外化症状的青少年免受抑郁症状的增加，研究对象为低风险社区样本。
该样本包括 115 名青少年（Mage=13.06；44%为女孩）及其父母（N=111），是一项关于儿童发展的正在进行的前瞻性研究的一部分。内化和外化症状在 COVID-19 封锁前一年进行自我报告。在荷兰第一次封锁期间（2020 年 4 月至 5 月）进行的在线调查中，青少年报告了抑郁症状和感知到的同伴联系，而父母报告了家庭功能。
24%的青少年在第一次 COVID-19 封锁期间报告了临床相关的抑郁症状。抑郁症状显著预测了早期的内化症状，但不能预测外化症状。此外，家庭功能质量越高，青少年的抑郁症状越少。家庭功能和同伴联系并不能调节先前内化症状与后期抑郁症状之间的联系。
在低风险社区样本中，四分之一的青少年在第一次 COVID-19 封锁时报告了临床相关的抑郁症状。较高的早期内化症状和较低的家庭功能质量增加了风险。这些结果表明，即使在低风险样本中，在危机时期，相当一部分青少年及其家庭都很脆弱。
