COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety and associated factors among adolescents in Southwest Ethiopia: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND

COVID-19 pandemic causes serious threats to people's mental health, particularly it has huge negative mental health outcomes for adolescents. However, there is lack of studies examining COVID-19-related anxiety among adolescents in Ethiopia. Hence, this study was aimed to examine COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety and its associated factors among adolescents in Mettu town.

METHODS

Community-based cross-sectional study was conducted from September 1 to 30, 2020 among 847 adolescents selected by stratified sampling technique. IBM SPSS Statistics Version 26.0 was used for analysis. Descriptive statistics such as frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation were computed. Bivariate and multivariate binary logistic regression analyses were done to identify factors associated with COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety. The statistical significance was declared at p ≤ 0.05; and the strength of association was described in terms of adjusted odds ratio.

RESULTS

Out of the total sample, 819 adolescents participated in this study. The mean age of the participants was 14.9 (SD = 2.798) years. The magnitude of COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety was found to be 20.9% (95% CI (18.1, 23.9)). The finding indicates that sex [(AOR (95% CI)); (0.724 (0.502, 1.043))], having both parents deceased [(AOR (95% CI)); (2.981 (1.138, 7.814))], living alone [(AOR (95% CI)); (2.363 (1.050, 5.321))], having unemployed mothers [(AOR (95% CI)); (1.943 (1.194, 3.163))], absence of close friend [(AOR (95% CI)); (0.377 (0.225, 0.630))], and medical problem [(AOR (95% CI)); (0.408 (0.278, 0.597))] were significantly associated with COVID-19-related anxiety.

CONCLUSION

The magnitude of COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety was found to be high in the study area. The findings have shown that the likelihood of developing COVID-19-related dysfunctional anxiety was linked to several factors. Provision of continued psychological support for adolescents is extremely encouraged.