Shi Wei, Zhao Li, Liu Min, Hong Binxue, Jiang Lihua, Jia Peng
Institute for Disaster Management and Reconstruction (IDMR), Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Department of Health Policy and Management, West China School of Public Health and West China Fourth Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Front Psychiatry. 2022 Aug 17;13:948036. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.948036. eCollection 2022.
The COVID-19 outbreak has resulted in mental health issues, mainly depression and anxiety, prompted by stressors such as the need to maintain social distance, adapting to quarantine, and lockdown policies. Resilience may be vital in protecting individuals from mental disorders. However, few studies have examined the longitudinal relationships between resilience and mental disorders (i.e., depression and anxiety) among adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
This study aimed to examine the association between resilience, depression, and anxiety among Chinese adolescents before and during COVID-19 using a longitudinal cross-lagged model.
A total of 7,958 Chinese adolescents completed a baseline survey in the month before COVID-19 and were followed up after the COVID-19 lockdown. Structural equation modeling analyses were applied to evaluate the associations between resilience, depression, and anxiety after controlling for three covariates (i.e., gender, age, and COVID-19 effect).
A higher level of resilience before COVID-19 significantly predicted decreased severity of depression and anxiety after the lockdown. Moreover, the mean level of resilience and prevalence of mental disorders (i.e., depression and anxiety) among Chinese adolescents decreased after the lockdown. These findings suggest resilience is a vital protective factor against depression and anxiety among adolescents. Furthermore, younger participants and those less affected by the pandemic could be more resilient. No significant link was found between gender and resilience in the second wave.
Resilience is an essential protective factor for reducing mental disorders among Chinese adolescents exposed to COVID-19. Resilience-related interventions should be developed to efficiently promote mental health recovery among youth during pandemics.
新冠疫情引发了心理健康问题，主要是抑郁和焦虑，这些问题由诸如保持社交距离、适应隔离和封锁政策等压力源所引发。心理韧性可能对保护个体免受精神障碍至关重要。然而，很少有研究考察新冠疫情之前及期间青少年心理韧性与精神障碍（即抑郁和焦虑）之间的纵向关系。
本研究旨在使用纵向交叉滞后模型，考察新冠疫情之前及期间中国青少年心理韧性、抑郁和焦虑之间的关联。
共有7958名中国青少年在新冠疫情前一个月完成了基线调查，并在新冠疫情封锁后进行了随访。应用结构方程模型分析，在控制三个协变量（即性别、年龄和新冠疫情影响）后，评估心理韧性、抑郁和焦虑之间的关联。
新冠疫情之前较高水平的心理韧性显著预测了封锁后抑郁和焦虑严重程度的降低。此外，中国青少年在封锁后心理韧性的平均水平以及精神障碍（即抑郁和焦虑）的患病率有所下降。这些发现表明，心理韧性是青少年抵御抑郁和焦虑的重要保护因素。此外，年龄较小的参与者以及受疫情影响较小的人可能更具心理韧性。在第二波研究中，未发现性别与心理韧性之间存在显著关联。
心理韧性是降低接触新冠疫情的中国青少年精神障碍的重要保护因素。应制定与心理韧性相关的干预措施，以有效促进疫情期间青少年的心理健康恢复。
