The Effect of COVID-19 and Related Lockdown Phases on Young Peoples’ Worries and Emotions: A Longitudinal Indian Cohort

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has posed unprecedented stress globally. Though less susceptible to severe forms of COVID-19 infection, young people too have suffered psychological impacts. As negative emotions and worries in adolescence can persist, incurring significant healthcare burden, measuring these during the pandemic can signpost later mental health needs particularly in low-resource settings. Here we report on experiences of coronavirus and its’ impact on negative emotions and worries in Indian adolescents. Methods: Three-hundred-and-ten young people from North India (51% male, 12-18 years) were recruited to a longitudinal online survey. At baseline, participants reported on their demographics, personal experiences and knowledge of others infected by the coronavirus, extent of social restrictions, the impact of the coronavirus on various life domains, their top three worries, and levels of negative affect and absence of positive affect (anhedonia). Findings: Most participants had no personal experience (97.41%) or knew anyone (82.58%) with COVID-19 yet endorsed moderate-to-severe impact of COVID-19 on their academic studies, social life, and work. Participants top three worries focused on academic attainments (7.82%), social and recreational activities (6.99%), and physical health (3.98%). More females than males worried about academic attainment and physical health while more males were worried about social and recreational activities. The impact of COVID-19 on social life, family relationship, physical health, emotions, and caring responsibilities associated with negative affect. Lower family income correlated with higher anhedonia as did the impact of COVID on physical health. Interpretation: Indian adolescents report significant impact of the pandemic on various aspects of their life and are particularly worried about academic attainments, social and recreational activities and physical health. These findings call for a need to ensure provisions and access to digital education and medical care. Funding: LR is funded by an ESRC grant to JYFL. TH is funded by Mental Health Research UK.Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing interests.Ethics Approval Statement: This study received approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University (Ref No.: Dean/2020/EC/1975) and King’s College London Research Ethics Committee (Ref: HR-19/20-18250).