Socio-ecological resilience moderates the change in anxious symptoms during the early weeks of the COVID-19 quarantine among Peruvian adolescents

• In Event: Poster Session 11
  In Poster Session: PS 11 Topic - Solicited Content: Global South

Abstract

Introduction, population and hypothesis
While personal sources of resilience--including peer relationships, autonomy, and education--typically become increasingly important across adolescence, lockdown has challenged these dynamics due to limited peer contact, online education, and increased interactions with caregivers. Thus, we investigated how resilience driven by both personal and caregiver resources might buffer against the challenges posed by an extended lockdown. In this longitudinal observational study, we present data on depression, anxiety, and socio-ecological resilience from 1,335 low and middle-class urban Peruvian adolescents aged 11 to 17 years old. Data were collected among 6th to 11th-grade students in 63 schools in Perú during the COVID-19 quarantine. This study began on April 20th, 2020 and ended on May 29th, 2020 (weeks 6 and 11 of lockdown).

Methods
Using mixed-effects models, we investigated whether youth-reported ratings of personal and caregiver resilience (CYRM-R; Jefferies, McGarrigle & Ungar, 2019) moderated the change in subjective youth-ratings of depression (PHQ2; Kroenke, Spitzer & Williams, 2003) and anxiety (PROMIS; Quinn et al., 2014), and whether grade or gender interacted with this relationship (preregistration: https://osf.io/rmcwv/).

Results
At baseline, 55% of adolescents indicated moderate levels of self-reported anxiety symptoms and 24% indicated severe levels of anxiety. Baseline anxiety symptoms were significantly higher among females compared to males (β=0.19;P<0.001) and were significantly higher among 11th graders compared to 6th, 7th, 8th, and 9th graders (all P’s<0.048). Over the six-week period, anxiety symptoms decreased (β=-0.22;P<0.001) and this decrease was more pronounced in males (β=-0.20;P<0.001). While participants with higher overall resilience had lower levels of anxiety symptoms at baseline (β=-0.12;P=0.001), overall resilience level did not moderate the change in anxiety symptoms significantly (P=0.250). Personal resilience also did not moderate the change in anxiety symptoms (P=0.232). However, participants with higher levels of caregiver resilience reported a greater decrease in anxiety symptoms (β=-0.07;P=0.005), suggesting that caregiver resilience moderated anxiety symptoms over the six weeks of lockdown.
At baseline, 25% of students’ self-reported depressive symptoms met screening criteria for major depressive disorder. Females had significantly higher baseline levels of depressive symptoms compared to males (β=0.23;P<0.001), with no difference by grade. Depression remained stable across the six weeks (P=0.152). There were significant main effects for overall resilience (β=-0.23;P<0.001) and gender (β=0.26;P< 0.001) on depressive symptoms, but, similar to analyses of anxiety symptoms, overall resilience (P=0.088) and personal resilience (P=0.498) did not significantly moderate change in depressive symptoms. Caregiver resilience moderated this change (β=-0.06;P=0.030).

Conclusion
In a large sample of low-and middle-income adolescents in Perú, we show that socio-ecological resilience was associated with lower baseline levels of anxiety and depression during the COVID-19 lockdown. Caregiver resilience appears more influential for mitigating adolescents' internalizing symptoms during an early period of the lockdown. These findings underscore the importance of caregivers for interventions aimed at improving adolescent mental health during COVID-19--perhaps especially in settings such as Perú and other countries where remote instruction will continue for the foreseeable future.

Authors

• Victoria Guazzelli Williamson, University of Oregon
  Presenting Author

• Estelle L. Berger, University of Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author

• Marjolein Eva Andrea Barendse, University of Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jennifer H. Pfeifer, University of Oregon
  Non-Presenting Author

• Ron E Dahl, University of California, Berkeley
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lucía Magis-Weinberg, University of Washington
  Non-Presenting Author