Abstract

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis unprecedented in its size and scope. Yet studies of resilience suggest most individuals will successfully negotiate this challenge and some may even experience growth and positive change. Some evidence suggests that the capacity to enact positive change in the face of adversity may be shaped by early life experiences.MethodsIn a subset of 374 participants (57% female, mean age = 29 years) in the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD), a longitudinal, birth cohort, prospective models were tested to determine whether early life adversities in family and neighborhood contexts predict positive change events in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Childhood family and neighborhood contexts were assessed using a combination of self-report questionnaires and US Census data. Adulthood positive change events (e.g., becoming more appreciative of things usually taken for granted) were assessed using the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory (EPII).ResultsIn regression analyses, neighborhood disadvantage in childhood, measured both by objective and subjective assessments, predicted a higher number of positive change events in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (β = .18, p = .004 and β = .15, p = .006, respectively). Examination of the positive change event subscales showed neighborhood disadvantage in childhood predicted increases in events related to ‘perspective taking and charitable giving’ (β = .20, p = .022 and β = .17, p = .002, respectively) and improved ‘social relationships’ (β = .18, p = .004 and β = .13, p = .020, respectively), but not to positive ‘health behaviors’ (ps > .05). All associations were independent of sociodemographic factors and childhood family dysfunction.ConclusionsFindings suggest that neighborhood disadvantage in childhood may shape prosocial responses to stress in adulthood, potentially through early life adaptions to stress that are protective when facing adversity. There are several notable implications of the study findings. Although adversity in early life has clear negative impacts, it is possible that adversity experiences may also provide opportunities to develop adaptive strategies that foster resilience and growth when facing stress. Intervention efforts should consider leveraging such stress-adapted strengths to reduce the many negative impacts of early life adversity.

Highlights

  • The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis unprecedented in its size and scope

  • Since the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19; the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus) was diagnosed in the United States [1], Americans have been disproportionately affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus

  • The current study focused on the subset of questions on the Epidemic-Pandemic Impacts Inventory (EPII) pertaining to positive changes or events that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic

Read more

Summary

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic is a crisis unprecedented in its size and scope. Studies of resilience sug‐ gest most individuals will successfully negotiate this challenge and some may even experience growth and positive change. Some evidence suggests that the capacity to enact positive change in the face of adversity may be shaped by early life experiences. Since the first case of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID19; the disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus) was diagnosed in the United States [1], Americans have been disproportionately affected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus. The morbidity and mortality costs of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States have been immense as have the many societal disruptions related to efforts to thwart its spread (e.g., school and business closings). Increases in psychological stress and family dysfunction over this period have resulted in increases in anxiety and depression, substance use, and suicidal ideation, as well as domestic violence and child maltreatment [8,9,10]

Objectives
Methods
Results
Discussion
Conclusion
Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call