A survey to evaluate mental well being and coping strategies of adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic in Bangalore, India
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47611/jsrhs.v10i2.1835Keywords:
adolescent, covid-19, DASS-21, Brief COPE, mental well being, depression, anxiety, stressAbstract
Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought about significant changes in the lifestyle of adolescents. Adolescence is a development stage of high vulnerability that can impact well-being later in life. Mental health plays an important role in one’s quality of life. Understanding coping mechanisms helps make a person safe and resilient from psychological distress. The present study aims to evaluate the mental well-being and coping strategies used by adolescents in India during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted in a school in Bangalore, India via an online survey, circulated via the class teacher. Participants included 222 adolescents with ages ranging from 13 to 19. The DASS-21 and Brief COPE scales were used to assess mental well-being and coping mechanisms respectively. The questionnaire concluded with validated general lifestyle related questions. This included inquiring relationships between students and their families, friends, academic performance, social media consumption etc. The data was collected over a period of one month.
Results: In the DASS-21 scoring, 31.9% (n=69), 24.8% (n=55) and 5.4% (n=12) received scores indicating extremely severe depression, anxiety and stress respectively. Females were statistically found to be more depressed and anxious than males. Behavioural disengagement and self blame were commonly used coping mechanisms by those who were found to be psychologically distressed.
Conclusions: Psychological distress has been observed in adolescents in varying degrees during the COVID-19 pandemic. This should be addressed in order to prevent further distress.
Keywords: adolescents, covid-19, mental well being, DASS-21, Brief COPE, depression, anxiety, stress
Downloads
References or Bibliography
Nebhinani N, Jain S. Adolescent mental health: Issues, challenges, and solutions. Ann Indian Psychiatry 2019;3:4-7. doi: 10.4103/aip.aip_24_19
Lee J. Mental health effects of school closures during COVID-19. The Lancet, child and adolescent health 2020;4:421. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/S2352-4642(20)30109-7
Lissak G. Adverse physiological and psychological effects of screen time on children and adolescents: Literature review and case study. Environ Res. 2018;164:149-157. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2018.01.015. Epub 2018 Feb 27. PMID: 29499467.
Hossain MM, Purohit N. Improving child and adolescent mental health in India: Status, services, policies, and way forward. Indian J Psychiatry 2019;61:415-9. doi: 10.4103/psychiatry.IndianJPsychiatry_217_18
Pigaiani Y, Zoccanate L, Zocca A, et al,. Adolescent Lifestyle Behaviors, Coping Strategies and Subjective Wellbeing during the COVID-19 Pandemic: An Online Student Survey. Healthcare 2020, 8, 472.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare8040472.
Revista de Psicología Clínica con Niños y Adolescentes. 2020;7(3):73-80.
doi: 10.21134/rpcna.2020.mon.2037
Kumar BP, Eregowda A, Giliyaru S. Impact of COVID-19 outbreak on the mental health of adolescents in India and their perceived causes of stress and anxiety. Int J Community Med Public Health 2020;7:5048-53.
doi: 10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20205183
Ertan Basha, Mehmet Kaya (2016). Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS): The Study of Validity and Reliability. Universal Journal of Educational Research. 2016;4(12), 2701 - 2705.
doi: 10.13189/ujer.2016.041202.
Carver CS. You want to measure coping but your protocol’s too long: Consider the Brief COPE. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 1997;4:92–100. doi: 10.1207/s15327558ijbm0401_6
Sim K, Chan YH, Chong PN, Chua HC, Soon SW. Psychosocial and coping responses within the community health care setting towards a national outbreak of an infectious disease. J Psychosom Res. 2010;68(2):195–202. doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychores.2009.04.004.
Virtanen, P., Gommers, R., Oliphant, T.E. et al. SciPy 1.0: fundamental algorithms for scientific computing in Python. Nat Methods. 2020;17: 261–272. doi: 10.1038/s41592-019-0686-2
Agha S. Mental well-being and association of the four factors coping structure model: A perspective of people living in lockdown during COVID-19. Ethics Med Public Health. 2021;16:100605. doi:10.1016/j.jemep.2020.100605
Voronin, I.A., Manrique-Millones D., Vasin, G.M., et. Al. Coping Responses during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Russia, Kyrgyzstan, and Peru. Psychology in Russia : State of the Art. 2020;13(4):55-74. doi:10.11621/pir.2020.0404
Rogers AA, Ha T, Ockey S. Adolescents' Perceived Socio-Emotional Impact of COVID-19 and Implications for Mental Health: Results From a U.S.-Based Mixed-Methods Study. J Adolesc Health. 2021;68(1):43-52. doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.09.039
Androutsos, O.; Perperidi, M.; Georgiou, C.; Chouliaras, G. Lifestyle Changes and Determinants of Children’s and Adolescents’ Body Weight Increase during the First COVID-19 Lockdown in Greece: The COV-EAT Study. Nutrients. 2021;13:930. doi: 10.3390/nu13030930
O'Neil A, Quirk SE, Housden S, et al. Relationship between diet and mental health in children and adolescents: a systematic review. Am J Public Health. 2014;104(10):e31-e42. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2014.302110.
Ruiz-Roso MB, de Carvalho Padilha P, Mantilla-Escalante DC, et al. Covid-19 Confinement and Changes of Adolescent's Dietary Trends in Italy, Spain, Chile, Colombia and Brazil. Nutrients. 2020;12(6):1807. Published 2020 Jun 17. doi:10.3390/nu12061807.
Verolien Cauberghe, Ini Van Wesenbeeck, Steffi De Jans, et. al. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. 2021;27(4):250-257. doi: https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2020.0478
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2021 Arna Bhattacharya; DR Jigyansa Ipsita Pattnaik , DR Suhas Chandran
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Copyright holder(s) granted JSR a perpetual, non-exclusive license to distriute & display this article.
