Adolescent media use and wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic in Latinx and Latin American adolescents

• In Event: Adolescents’ Cultural Contexts and Competencies across Digital Landscapes

Abstract

Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged the mental health and opportunities for prosocial behaviors of many adolescents, particularly in countries with strict lockdowns such as Perú. Using self-report data from adolescents, we investigate the relationship between (performing and receiving) online prosocial behavior and loneliness and depression during the COVID-19 pandemic in Perú.
Methods
Data were collected as part of a larger study of 6th to 11th grade low- and middle-income students in Perú. Students completed the Online Prosocial Behavior Survey (Erreygers et al., 2018) and reported subjective ratings of loneliness and depression. We split the sample into an exploratory (‘Sample 1’, n=881) and confirmatory (‘Sample 2’, n=880 sample and additional confirmatory sample and, in Fall 2020, we collected data from yet another confirmatory sample of just middle-schoolers (‘Sample 3’, n = 772).
Results
In most of the samples, self-rated loneliness and depression was higher for girls. Additionally, loneliness was stable across grades while depression was typically higher for the oldest grades. In most of the samples, girls reported performing and receiving more online prosocial behavior than boys. In samples 1 and 2, performing of prosocial behaviors was higher for the oldest grades and, across the three samples, there was no grade difference in receiving online prosocial behavior.
Controlling for gender and grade, across three samples, our findings suggest that higher loneliness and depression are typically associated with perceptions of performing more, but receiving less, online prosocial behavior (Table 2).
Conclusion
Overall, girls endorsed higher loneliness, depression, performing and receiving online prosocial behaviors. Older grades generally endorsed higher rates of depression and performing (compared to receiving) online prosocial behavior. While perceptions of receiving prosocial behavior was associated with lower depression and loneliness, perceptions of performing prosocial behavior had a negative association with indices of illbeing. Future studies should investigate whether these associations are caused by distortions in perceptions of performing versus receiving online prosocial behavior or whether there are objective differences in the actual performing or receiving of online prosocial behaviors associated with these indicators of illbeing. Finally, longitudinal work in adolescents may elucidate the directionality of these associations.

Authors

• Victoria Guazzelli Williamson, University of Oregon

• Estelle L. Berger, University of Oregon

• Jennifer H. Pfeifer, University of Oregon

• Ron E Dahl, University of California, Berkeley

• Lucía Magis-Weinberg, University of Washington
  Presenting Author