Psychology Research and Behavior Management (Jan 2024)

Differential Impact of Emotional and Contextual Factors Associated with COVID-19 on Adolescent Mental Health

  • Sánchez-López MT,
  • Llamas-Díaz D,
  • Megías-Robles A,
  • Gómez-Leal R,
  • Gutiérrez-Cobo MJ,
  • Fernández-Berrocal P,
  • Cabello R

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 17
pp. 147 – 156

Abstract

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María T Sánchez-López,1 Desirée Llamas-Díaz,1 Alberto Megías-Robles,1 Raquel Gómez-Leal,1 María José Gutiérrez-Cobo,2 Pablo Fernández-Berrocal,1 Rosario Cabello2 1Department of Basic Psychology, University of Málaga, Málaga, Spain; 2Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, University of Málaga, Málaga, SpainCorrespondence: Rosario Cabello, University of Málaga, Campus Teatinos, s/n, Málaga, 29071, Spain, Email [email protected]: During the confinement, there was an increase in the incidence of mental disorders such as depression and anxiety. In this regard, affectivity is of particular interest, as emotions play a fundamental role in overall mental health. The literature on COVID-19 in this population has often focused on the analysis of risk factors for mental health, while less attention has been paid to protective factors. In this paper, we propose an inclusive model of risk and protective factors for adolescent mental health through the indirect effect of negative and positive affect.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study with a Spanish community sample of 477 adolescents (Mage = 16.23, range:14 to 20 years old; 43.4% were boys; response rate: 100%). We measured the perceived hardness of confinement, worrying about contagion, quality of relationships at home, pleasant activities, affect (positive and negative), and mental health.Results: The results revealed a positive relationship between the perceived hardness of confinement and worrying about contagion with mental health, through the indirect effect of negative affect, and a positive relationship between home relationships and pleasant activities with mental health through an indirect effect of positive affect.Conclusion: Our results suggest that different types of emotions generated by the various contextual variables associated with COVID-19 may have a differential impact on mental health. These findings support the inclusive model of risk and protective factors for adolescent mental health. Practical implications, future studies, and limitations are discussed.Keywords: COVID-19, adolescents, mental health, affectivity, contextual variables

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