“I wish I could change the whole thing so it never happened”: Youth purpose, depression, anxiety, and prosocial behavior during Covid-19

• In Event: Helping out while staying in: Prosocial responses to the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Covid-19 has impacted adolescents’ socio-emotional development in myriad ways. During the Covid-19 outbreak, we were in the midst of a national scale study of youth in Boy Scouts of America, a program that serves 2.2 million youth (Boy Scouts of America, 2018). This presented the opportunity to explore youth mental health during a global crisis and potential protective factors.
Research Questions. 1) Are youth with greater sense of purpose less likely to experience anxiety and depressive symptoms during Covid-19?, and 2) Are youth with a greater sense of purpose more likely to engage in or plan on engaging in prosocial behaviors during Covid-19?
The data are from the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) Building Evidence in Scouting Together (BEST) study. We analyzed online survey data from 5,817 youth. Youth ranged in age from 10 to 18 years (M=14, SD=2), were 91%White (7.5% Latinx, 8% Asian, 4.3% Native American, 3% Black, 1.2% Middle Eastern, 6.3% others; youth could select multiple options), 97% male, and were from various regions of the US (24% Northeast, 26% South, 34% Central, 17% West). We also analyzed Wave 3 youth telephone interview data (N=94). Interviewed youth demonstrated similar demographics to the full sample. Measures. Purpose was measured using the Claremont Purpose Scale (CPS; Bronk et al., 2018), including meaningfulness, goal orientation, and beyond-the-self subscales. Anxiety was measured using the Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD-7) scale (Spitzer et al., 2006). Depressive symptoms were measured using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) scale (Radloff, 1977). Prosocial behavior was measured via youth interviews. Although the protocol did not include specific questions about Covid-19 experiences, youth were asked questions about what they want to change about the world and whether they are currently doing anything to enact change. Two coders initially coded for statements related to Covid-19. A second round of coding identified themes related to prosocial behavior such as a desire to change a situation and empathy.
RQ1. To address RQ1, a structural equation model was run using W2 purpose (goal orientation, meaning, and beyond-the-self) to predict W3 anxiety controlling for W2 anxiety. A parallel model was run for depressive symptoms. Higher W2 scores on goal orientation and meaning predicted lower W3 anxiety and depression; however, higher W2 scores on beyond-the-self predicted higher W3 scores on anxiety and depression (see Figures 1 and 2).
RQ2. To address RQ2, we analyzed the interviews for themes related to Covid-19 and prosocial intentions and behaviors. Half the interviewed youth made comments related to Covid-19. Of those who commented on Covid-19, 81% included comments related to prosocial behavior, such as a desire to change the situation, providing potential solutions, a commitment to following health guidelines, Covid-19 specific examples of how they are helping family, and empathy for others. Future analyses will employ a modified sequential explanatory mixed methods design (Urban et al., 2015); qualitative codes will be overlaid on bivariate regression plots for purpose predicting depressive symptoms and anxiety. Analyses will examine consistencies and disconnects between the quantitative and qualitative data.

Authors

• Milira Cox, Montclair State University
  Presenting Author

• Tara Bennett, Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lauren Alvis, The Hackett Center for Mental Health
  Non-Presenting Author

• Alysandra Zhang, Columbia University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jennifer Brown Urban, Montclair State University
  Non-Presenting Author

• Miriam R Linver, Montclair State University
  Non-Presenting Author