The Effect of Social Support on Mental Health in Chinese Adolescents During the Outbreak of COVID-19

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak impacts physical and mental health. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between the levels of social support and mental health among Chinese adolescents during the outbreak. A total of 7,202 adolescents aged 14–18 years completed...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of adolescent health 2020-10, Vol.67 (4), p.514-518
Main Authors:	Qi, Meng, Zhou, Shuang-Jiang, Guo, Zhao-Chang, Zhang, Li-Gang, Min, Hong-Jie, Li, Xiao-Min, Chen, Jing-Xu
Format:	Article
Language:	eng
Subjects:	Adolescent Adolescents Anxiety Anxiety - epidemiology Anxiety disorders Betacoronavirus China China - epidemiology Chinese languages Coronavirus Infections - psychology COVID-19 Depression Depression - epidemiology Female Generalized anxiety disorder Health problems Health status Health Surveys Humans Male Mental depression Mental disorders Mental health Mental health care Original Pandemics Pneumonia, Viral - psychology Prevalence Psychology, Adolescent SARS-CoV-2 Social anxiety Social Support Symptoms Teenagers
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Summary:	The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak impacts physical and mental health. The purpose of this study was to explore the association between the levels of social support and mental health among Chinese adolescents during the outbreak. A total of 7,202 adolescents aged 14–18 years completed online survceys from March 8 to 15, 2020, in China. Researchers assessed the associations between depression symptoms (Patient Health Questionnaire-9), anxiety symptoms (Chinese version of the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale), and social support (Social Support Rate Scale). COVID-19 exposure was associated with a higher prevalence of depression symptoms (odds ratio [OR] = 1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.14–1.66) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.26, 95% CI: 1.04–1.52). Only 24.6% of adolescents reported high levels of social support. Most adolescents (70%) reported medium levels of support, and 5.4% reported low support. Low support was associated with higher prevalence of depression (OR = 4.24, 95% CI: 3.38–5.33) and anxiety symptoms (OR = 3.18, 95% CI: 2.54–3.98), while controlling for gender, grade, living situation, and COVID-19 exposure; similarly, medium support was associated with higher prevalence of depression (OR = 2.79, 95% CI: 2.48–3.15) and anxiety (OR = 2.19, 95% CI: 1.94–2.48) symptoms. This study indicates there is a higher prevalence of mental health problems among adolescents with medium and low levels of social support in China during the outbreak of COVID-19.
ISSN:	1054-139X 1879-1972