Is the psychological impact of exposure to COVID-19 stronger in adolescents with pre-pandemic maltreatment experiences? A survey of rural Chinese adolescents [sciencedirect.com]

Background

Since the COVID-19 outbreak at the end of 2019, it has evolved into a global pandemic with tremendous mental health impact besides the threats to people’s physical health.

Objective

The aims were to examine whether exposure to COVID-19 predicts elevated levels of anxiety and post-traumatic stress symptoms and whether pre-pandemic maltreatment experiences exacerbate this impact on mental health in adolescents.

Participants and setting

The survey was conducted online from February 8 st to February 27th, 2020, and the questionnaires were distributed and retrieved through a web-based platform. This study includes a total of 6196 subjects, aged range from 11 to 18 years old.

Conclusions

After pre-pandemic maltreatment experiences the impact of exposure to COVID-19 on mental health may be stronger. Scars from the past seem to be vulnerabilities during societal upheaval. We therefore suggest that when exposed to COVID-19 rural adolescents should get prioritized professional family support and mental health counseling in particular when they have experienced family abuse and neglect in childhood, even though such support is more difficult to organize in rural areas.

[Please click here to read more.]