The Pandemic and adolescent mental health
The pandemic and its consequences. We are used to seeing groups of colourful and active adolescents hanging around in school grounds, retail malls, recreational parks, and other public places. It's hardly surprising, given that they're at a time in their development where socialising with...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Revon Media Sdn Bhd
2022
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| Online Access: | http://irep.iium.edu.my/98312/6/98312_The%20Pandemic%20and%20adolescent%20mental%20health.pdf http://irep.iium.edu.my/98312/ https://viewer.joomag.com/the-health-march-april-2022/ |
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| Summary: | The pandemic and its consequences.
We are used to seeing groups of colourful and active adolescents hanging around in school grounds, retail malls, recreational parks, and other public places. It's hardly surprising, given that they're at a time in their development where socialising with peers is a key component of their personality development. They learn about connectedness, the value of support, how to model resilience, and, most significantly, it is an excellent antidote to their daily stress through socialisation.
Unfortunately, for a very significant duration, this was no longer a viable option for some adolescents. The COVID-19 pandemic, a global public health crisis, has seen dramatic changes in the landscape of citizens’ lives. We faced a series of national quarantine measures, namely Movement Control Order (MCO), and cordon sanitaire measures, implemented by the government of Malaysia in response to the COVID-19 pandemic starting on March 18, 2020, until the end of 2021. One of the most momentous impacts of this action is the school closure and the implementation of full online and distance learning, which involves every layer of our education system.
Many people, including adolescents, were caught off guard by these shifts. Family dynamics were disrupted, social connectivity was a major difficulty, and many people experienced various life uncertainties. These abnormalities have unquestionably contributed to a propensity to a variety of mental health concerns. Mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, stress, self-harm, suicidal behaviour, substance abuse, and domestic violence, are on the rise around the world. These patterns are not new as we have seen them before during previous pandemics and global economic downturns in prior decades.
A meta-analysis of 29 studies including 80 879 youth globally reported that the pooled prevalence estimates of clinically elevated child and adolescent depression and anxiety were 25.2% and 20.5%, respectively. What is more worrying is that the prevalence of depression and anxiety symptoms during COVID-19 has doubled, compared with pre-pandemic figures. The study also highlighted that the prevalence rates were higher at the later stage of lockdown, in older adolescents, and in girls. |
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