Abstract
BackgroundChildren and youth residential care institutions were forced to introduce adaptations to their regular functioning in order to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic challenges. ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the lockdown on the adolescents' psychological adjustment and whether adolescents' perceived cohesion mitigated the increase of adolescents' psychological adjustment problems. ParticipantsParticipants were 243 adolescents aged 12 to 18 years, living in 21 different residential care institutions. ResultsThe results suggested a moderating role of cohesion on the stability of adolescents' emotional distress across time. Lower levels of cohesion were related with higher emotional distress stability across time. On the contrary, as cohesion increased, the association between adolescents' emotional distress at T0 and T1 decreased. DiscussionResults are discussed considering the mechanisms raised by the institutions to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and minimize the negative effects on the psychological adjustment of adolescents living in residential care.
Highlights
According to the UNICEF (2020), the harmful effects of the pandemic COVID-19 have been affecting children and youth not and those who were already in disadvantaged or vulnerable situations are the ones suffering most of poor mental health and anxiety about returning to school and the future in general
Differences in adolescents' psychological adjustment may be due to how the residential care settings were able to manage the challenges imposed by the pandemic, and how they dealt with main taining cohesion in these unpredictable and uncertain times
This study aimed to examine the effects of cohesion on adolescents' psychological adjustment over the COVID-19 first confinement period
Summary
According to the UNICEF (2020), the harmful effects of the pandemic COVID-19 have been affecting children and youth not and those who were already in disadvantaged or vulnerable situations are the ones suffering most of poor mental health and anxiety about returning to school and the future in general This aspect assumes special relevance for adolescents living in residential care who, besides having to deal with common physical, neurodevelopmental and psychosocial changes during adolescence (Baginsky & Manthorpe, 2020), have to face the stressors associated with living away from the family, and the new stressors associated with the changes that resulted from the pandemic situation. Children had to be maintained at the homes (confinement), school physical attendance was substituted by remote schooling with additional technical challenges, and all the members of the homes were forced to spend more time together in a limited space These restrictions pose additional challenges for adolescents in care, placing them in an especially vulnerable position (CFECFW, 2020). Discussion: Results are discussed considering the mechanisms raised by the institutions to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic and minimize the negative effects on the psychological adjustment of adolescents living in residential care
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