Depression and anxiety in adolescents: The lesser explored impacts of COVID-19

What is it about?

Multiple reports have underscored the vulnerability of high school students to depression and anxiety. The COVID-19 pandemic has only intensified this risk by forcing senior high school students to stay home and adhere to online education. This new shift in education has the potential to jeopardize the psychological well-being of students. Even though this has been a topic of research, the impact of depression and anxiety and factors contributing to these problems have not been adequately addressed. The authors of this paper explored the prevalence and predictors of depression and anxiety among senior high school students in Jordan during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Photo by Christian Erfurt on Unsplash

Photo by Christian Erfurt on Unsplash

Why is it important?

High school students mainly consist of adolescents, who are still maturing and therefore lacking the coping skills required to cope with an over-whelming situation like the one that the pandemic has created. For senior high school students in Jordan, who compete in one important national exam that determines their eligibility for university enrolment, the pandemic has the potential to jeopardize their psychological well-being and affect their examination preparations. It has added to the mental stress the senior high students already go through, resulting in a higher prevalence of anxiety and depression. The authors found a high prevalence of anxiety and depression among senior high school students. This was impacted by their parents’, especially the father’s, level of education and difficulties with online education. Students with fathers with lower education levels had a higher prevalence of depression and anxiety than their counterparts with higher levels of education. Gender and age were also found to be significant predictors of both anxiety and depression, with female and older students being more susceptible than male and younger students. KEY TAKEAWAY With the pandemic-induced social restrictions, home quarantines, and curfews, mental health professionals at schools need to effectively ad-dress the mental health issues and psychosocial support that senior high school students need.