Edmonton Clinic Health Academy, University of Alberta School of Public Health, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Public Health Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
PLoS One. 2023 Oct 24;18(10):e0293195. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293195. eCollection 2023.
Understanding the inequitable impacts of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic on youth mental health are leading priorities. Existing research has linked income inequality in schools to adolescent depression, however, it is unclear if the onset of the pandemic exacerbated the effects of income inequality on adolescent mental health. The current study aimed to quantify the association between income inequality and adolescent mental health during COVID-19.
Longitudinal data were taken from three waves (2018/19 to 2020/21) of the Cannabis, Obesity, Mental health, Physical activity, Alcohol, Smoking, and Sedentary behaviour (COMPASS) school-based study. Latent Growth Curve modelling was used to assess the association between Census District (CD)-level income inequality and depressive symptoms before and after the onset of COVID-19.
The study sample included 29,722 students across 43 Census divisions in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, and Quebec. The average age of the sample at baseline was 14.9 years [standard deviation (SD) = 1.5] and ranged between 12 and 19 years of age. Most of the sample self-reported as white (76.3%) and female (54.4%). Students who completed the COMPASS survey after the onset of COVID reported 0.20-unit higher depressive scores (95% CI = 0.16, 0.24) compared to pre-COVID. The adjusted analyses indicated that the association between income inequality on anxiety scores was strengthened following the onset of COVID-19 (β = 0.02, 95% CI = 0.0004, 0.03), indicating that income inequality was associated with a greater increase in anxiety scores during COVID-19.
The adjusted results indicate that the association between income inequality and adolescent anxiety persisted and was heightened at the onset of COVID-19. Future studies should use quasi-experimental methods to strengthen this finding. The current study can inform policy and program discussions regarding the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and pandemic recovery for young Canadians and relevant social policies for improving adolescent mental health.
了解当前 COVID-19 大流行对青年心理健康的不平等影响是当务之急。现有研究将学校收入不平等与青少年抑郁联系起来，但尚不清楚大流行的爆发是否加剧了收入不平等对青少年心理健康的影响。本研究旨在量化 COVID-19 期间收入不平等与青少年心理健康之间的关联。
纵向数据来自基于学校的 Cannabis、Obesity、Mental health、Physical activity、Alcohol、Smoking 和 Sedentary behaviour (COMPASS) 研究的三个波次（2018/19 年至 2020/21 年）。使用潜在增长曲线模型评估在 COVID-19 爆发前后，人口普查区（CD）收入不平等与抑郁症状之间的关联。
研究样本包括不列颠哥伦比亚省、艾伯塔省、安大略省和魁北克省 43 个人口普查区的 29722 名学生。样本的平均基线年龄为 14.9 岁（标准差 [SD] = 1.5），年龄范围在 12 至 19 岁之间。大多数样本自我报告为白人（76.3%）和女性（54.4%）。与 COVID 前相比，完成 COMPASS 调查的学生在 COVID 后报告的抑郁评分高出 0.20 个单位（95%CI = 0.16，0.24）。调整后的分析表明，COVID-19 爆发后，收入不平等与焦虑评分的关联得到加强（β = 0.02，95%CI = 0.0004，0.03），表明收入不平等与 COVID-19 期间焦虑评分的更大增加相关。
调整后的结果表明，收入不平等与青少年焦虑之间的关联在 COVID-19 爆发时持续存在且加剧。未来的研究应使用准实验方法来加强这一发现。本研究可以为有关加拿大年轻人的 COVID-19 大流行和大流行后恢复以及改善青少年心理健康的相关社会政策的政策和计划讨论提供信息。
