Beames Joanne R, Huckvale Kit, Fujimoto Hiroko, Maston Kate, Batterham Philip J, Calear Alison L, Mackinnon Andrew, Werner-Seidler Aliza, Christensen Helen
Black Dog Institute, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
Centre for Digital Transformation of Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2023 Mar 9;17(1):34. doi: 10.1186/s13034-023-00583-1.
When COVID-19 spread to Australia in January 2020, many communities were already in a state of emergency from the Black Summer bushfires. Studies of adolescent mental health have typically focused on the effects of COVID-19 in isolation. Few studies have examined the impact of COVID-19 and other co-occurring disasters, such as the Black Summer bushfires in Australia, on adolescent mental health.
We conducted a cross-sectional survey to examine the impact of COVID-19 and the Black Summer bushfires on the mental health of Australian adolescents. Participants (N = 5866; mean age 13.61 years) answered self-report questionnaires about COVID-19 diagnosis/quarantine (being diagnosed with and/or quarantined because of COVID-19) and personal exposure to bushfire harm (being physically injured, evacuated from home and/or having possessions destroyed). Validated standardised scales were used to assess depression, psychological distress, anxiety, insomnia, and suicidal ideation. Trauma related to COVID-19 and the bushfires was also assessed. The survey was completed in two large school-based cohorts between October 2020 and November 2021.
Exposure to COVID-19 diagnosis/quarantine was associated with increased probability of elevated trauma. Exposure to personal harm by the bushfires was associated with increased probability of elevated insomnia, suicidal ideation, and trauma. There were no interactive effects between disasters on adolescent mental health. Effects between personal risk factors and disasters were generally additive or sub-additive.
Adolescent mental health responses to community-level disasters are multi-faceted. Complex psychosocial factors associated with mental ill health may be relevant irrespective of disaster. Future research is needed to investigate synergistic effects of disasters on young mental health.
2020年1月新冠病毒病（COVID-19）传播至澳大利亚时，许多社区因“黑色夏天”丛林大火已处于紧急状态。青少年心理健康研究通常只关注COVID-19的孤立影响。很少有研究考察COVID-19和其他同时发生的灾难，如澳大利亚的“黑色夏天”丛林大火，对青少年心理健康的影响。
我们进行了一项横断面调查，以考察COVID-19和“黑色夏天”丛林大火对澳大利亚青少年心理健康的影响。参与者（N = 5866；平均年龄13.61岁）回答了关于COVID-19诊断/隔离（因COVID-19被诊断和/或隔离）以及个人遭受丛林大火伤害（身体受伤、离家疏散和/或财产被毁）的自填问卷。使用经过验证的标准化量表评估抑郁、心理困扰、焦虑、失眠和自杀意念。还评估了与COVID-19和丛林大火相关的创伤。该调查于2020年10月至2021年11月在两个大型学校队列中完成。
接触COVID-19诊断/隔离与创伤增加的可能性相关。遭受丛林大火的个人伤害与失眠、自杀意念和创伤增加的可能性相关。灾难对青少年心理健康没有交互作用。个人风险因素与灾难之间的影响通常是相加或次相加的。
青少年对社区层面灾难的心理健康反应是多方面的。与心理健康不良相关的复杂社会心理因素可能与灾难无关。未来需要开展研究，以调查灾难对青少年心理健康的协同效应。
