Adolescent Feelings on COVID-19 Distance Learning Support: Associations With Mental Health, Social-Emotional Health, Substance Use, and Delinquency

Kurzbeschreibung

Purpose: School social support is associated with improved adolescent wellbeing. However, positive school relationships were potentially disrupted when schools transitioned to distance learning in 2020 to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. This study investigated associations among perceived distance learning school support, mental health, social-emotional wellbeing, substance use, and delinquency among low-income, public high school students. Methods: We analyzed longitudinal survey data, collected between June 2020 and June 2021, from 372 students attending five large urban public high schools. Mixed-effects regression models examined associations among changes in distance learning support and changes in mental health, social emotional wellbeing, substance use, and delinquency, controlling for time, social-demographics, and baseline health. Results: In this predominantly Latinx (83%) sample, within-person increases in perceived distance learning support were associated with improved mental health, increased grit, increased self- efficacy, and decreased stress. Between-person differences in distance learning support indi-cated that students reporting greater support had improved mental and social-emotional out-comes. Although there were no within-person associations among distance learning support and hopelessness or delinquency, students with greater distance learning support (between-person) had lower levels of hopelessness and lower odds of engaging in any delinquent behavior. There were no associations between distance learning support and 30-day substance use. Discussion: School social support, even without students physically on campus, may be critical to adolescent health behaviors and social-emotional outcomes.

Schlagwörter

Quantitative Studie, Kinder und Jugendliche im Sekundarstufenalter, Distance-Schooling, USA

Quellenangabe

Kwaning, Karen, Ullah, Ayman, Biely, Christopher, Jackson, Nicholas, Dosanjh, Kulwant K., Galvez, Arzie, Arellano, Guadalupe, Dudovitz, Rebecca (2023). Adolescent Feelings on COVID-19 Distance Learning Support: Associations With Mental Health, Social-Emotional Health, Substance Use, and Delinquency. Associations With Mental Health, Journal of Adolescent Health, 72, 682-687.