Social factors associated with self-reported changes in mental health symptoms among youth in the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey
Abstract Background Children and youth experienced marked impacts on day-to-day life in the COVID-19 pandemic that were associated with poorer familial and friend relationships, and greater mental health challenges. Few studies provide self-report data on mental health symptoms from children and you...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2024-02-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18087-8 |
| _version_ | 1797272889912721408 |
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| author | Stephana Julia Moss Maia Stelfox Eric McArthur Cynthia Sriskandarajah Sofia B. Ahmed Kathryn Birnie Donna M. Halperin Scott A. Halperin Micaela Harley Jia Hu Josh Ng Kamstra Laura Leppan Angie Nickel Nicole Racine Kristine Russell Stacie Smith May Solis Perri R. Tutelman Henry T. Stelfox Kirsten M. Fiest Jeanna Parsons Leigh |
| author_facet | Stephana Julia Moss Maia Stelfox Eric McArthur Cynthia Sriskandarajah Sofia B. Ahmed Kathryn Birnie Donna M. Halperin Scott A. Halperin Micaela Harley Jia Hu Josh Ng Kamstra Laura Leppan Angie Nickel Nicole Racine Kristine Russell Stacie Smith May Solis Perri R. Tutelman Henry T. Stelfox Kirsten M. Fiest Jeanna Parsons Leigh |
| author_sort | Stephana Julia Moss |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Children and youth experienced marked impacts on day-to-day life in the COVID-19 pandemic that were associated with poorer familial and friend relationships, and greater mental health challenges. Few studies provide self-report data on mental health symptoms from children and youth themselves. We sought to examine the associations between social factors and child and youth self-reported symptoms of worsened mood, anxiety, and irritability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A nationally representative cross-sectional survey was administered online to collect self-report data across 10 Canadian provinces among children (11–14 years) and youth (15–18 years), April–May 2022. Age-appropriate questions were based on The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health and the World Health Organization of the United Nations H6 + Technical Working Group on Adolescent Health and Well-Being consensus framework and the Coronavirus Health and Impact Survey. Associations between a priori defined social factors (e.g., relationship quality) and respondent self-reported mental health were evaluated using ordinal logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, and geographic location. Results We analyzed data from 483 (51.7%) children (11–14 years; 227, 47.0% girls) and 450 (48.3%) youth (15–18 years; 204, 45.3% girls). The parents of most children and youth had resided in Canada for over 20 years (678, 72.7%). Over one-quarter of children and youth self-identified as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color (134, 27.7%; 134, 29.8%, respectively). Over one-third of children and youth self-reported symptoms of worsened mood (149, 30.9%; 125, 27.8%, respectively), anxiety (181, 37.5%; 167, 37.1%, respectively), or irritability (160, 33.1%; 160, 35.6%, respectively) during, compared to pre-pandemic. In descending order of odds ratios (OR), for children and youth, worsened familial relationships (during compared to pre-pandemic) was associated with the self-reported symptoms of worsened mood (child: OR 4.22, 95%CI 2.51–6.88; youth: OR 6.65 95%CI 3.98–11.23), anxiety (child: OR 4.24, 95%CI2.69–6.75; youth: OR 5.28, 95%CI 3.17–8.86), and irritability (child: OR 2.83, 95%CI 1.76–4.56; youth: OR 6.46, 95%CI 3.88–10.90). Conclusions Self-reported data from a nationally representative sample of children and youth suggest strong associations between social factors and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interventions targeting child and youth familial relationships may positively impact child and youth mental health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:36:46Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4dddf84b82804012b26473a3b147d211 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:36:46Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-4dddf84b82804012b26473a3b147d2112024-03-05T20:37:00ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582024-02-0124111110.1186/s12889-024-18087-8Social factors associated with self-reported changes in mental health symptoms among youth in the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional surveyStephana Julia Moss0Maia Stelfox1Eric McArthur2Cynthia Sriskandarajah3Sofia B. Ahmed4Kathryn Birnie5Donna M. Halperin6Scott A. Halperin7Micaela Harley8Jia Hu9Josh Ng Kamstra10Laura Leppan11Angie Nickel12Nicole Racine13Kristine Russell14Stacie Smith15May Solis16Perri R. Tutelman17Henry T. Stelfox18Kirsten M. Fiest19Jeanna Parsons Leigh20Faculty of Health, Dalhousie UniversityFaculty of Health, Dalhousie UniversityLondon Health Sciences CentreFaculty of Health, Dalhousie UniversityCumming School of Medicine, University of CalgaryDepartments of Anesthesiology, Perioperative, and Pain MedicineRankin School of Nursing, St. Francis Xavier UniversityCanadian Center for Vaccinology, Departments of Pediatrics and Microbiology & Immunology, Dalhousie UniversityFraymeDepartment of Community Health Sciences, University of CalgaryDepartment of Surgery, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical SchoolFaculty of Health, Dalhousie UniversityFaculty of Health, Dalhousie UniversityFaculty of Social Sciences, University of Ottawa, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research InstituteFaculty of Health, Dalhousie UniversityYoung Canadian Roundtable On HealthFaculty of Health, Dalhousie UniversityDepartment of Oncology, University of CalgaryFaculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of AlbertaDepartment of Critical Care Medicine and O’Brien Institute for Public Health, University of CalgaryFaculty of Health, Dalhousie UniversityAbstract Background Children and youth experienced marked impacts on day-to-day life in the COVID-19 pandemic that were associated with poorer familial and friend relationships, and greater mental health challenges. Few studies provide self-report data on mental health symptoms from children and youth themselves. We sought to examine the associations between social factors and child and youth self-reported symptoms of worsened mood, anxiety, and irritability during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods A nationally representative cross-sectional survey was administered online to collect self-report data across 10 Canadian provinces among children (11–14 years) and youth (15–18 years), April–May 2022. Age-appropriate questions were based on The Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health and the World Health Organization of the United Nations H6 + Technical Working Group on Adolescent Health and Well-Being consensus framework and the Coronavirus Health and Impact Survey. Associations between a priori defined social factors (e.g., relationship quality) and respondent self-reported mental health were evaluated using ordinal logistic regression models adjusted for age, sex, and geographic location. Results We analyzed data from 483 (51.7%) children (11–14 years; 227, 47.0% girls) and 450 (48.3%) youth (15–18 years; 204, 45.3% girls). The parents of most children and youth had resided in Canada for over 20 years (678, 72.7%). Over one-quarter of children and youth self-identified as Black, Indigenous, or a Person of Color (134, 27.7%; 134, 29.8%, respectively). Over one-third of children and youth self-reported symptoms of worsened mood (149, 30.9%; 125, 27.8%, respectively), anxiety (181, 37.5%; 167, 37.1%, respectively), or irritability (160, 33.1%; 160, 35.6%, respectively) during, compared to pre-pandemic. In descending order of odds ratios (OR), for children and youth, worsened familial relationships (during compared to pre-pandemic) was associated with the self-reported symptoms of worsened mood (child: OR 4.22, 95%CI 2.51–6.88; youth: OR 6.65 95%CI 3.98–11.23), anxiety (child: OR 4.24, 95%CI2.69–6.75; youth: OR 5.28, 95%CI 3.17–8.86), and irritability (child: OR 2.83, 95%CI 1.76–4.56; youth: OR 6.46, 95%CI 3.88–10.90). Conclusions Self-reported data from a nationally representative sample of children and youth suggest strong associations between social factors and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interventions targeting child and youth familial relationships may positively impact child and youth mental health.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18087-8ChildYouthCOVID-19Mental HealthSociodemographics |
| spellingShingle | Stephana Julia Moss Maia Stelfox Eric McArthur Cynthia Sriskandarajah Sofia B. Ahmed Kathryn Birnie Donna M. Halperin Scott A. Halperin Micaela Harley Jia Hu Josh Ng Kamstra Laura Leppan Angie Nickel Nicole Racine Kristine Russell Stacie Smith May Solis Perri R. Tutelman Henry T. Stelfox Kirsten M. Fiest Jeanna Parsons Leigh Social factors associated with self-reported changes in mental health symptoms among youth in the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey BMC Public Health Child Youth COVID-19 Mental Health Sociodemographics |
| title | Social factors associated with self-reported changes in mental health symptoms among youth in the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey |
| title_full | Social factors associated with self-reported changes in mental health symptoms among youth in the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey |
| title_fullStr | Social factors associated with self-reported changes in mental health symptoms among youth in the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social factors associated with self-reported changes in mental health symptoms among youth in the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey |
| title_short | Social factors associated with self-reported changes in mental health symptoms among youth in the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey |
| title_sort | social factors associated with self reported changes in mental health symptoms among youth in the covid 19 pandemic a cross sectional survey |
| topic | Child Youth COVID-19 Mental Health Sociodemographics |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-18087-8 |
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