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Friend Support and Internalizing Symptoms in Early Adolescence During COVID-19.

Esther L BernascoStefanie A NelemansJolien van der GraaffSusan J T Branje
Published in: Journal of research on adolescence : the official journal of the Society for Research on Adolescence (2021)
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted adolescents' psychosocial adjustment and social relationships across the world. This prospective longitudinal study examined whether internalizing problems during the pandemic could be predicted by precrisis friend support, and whether this effect was moderated by the time adolescents spent with their friends and COVID-19-related stress. 245 Dutch adolescents (Mage  = 11.60) participated before and during COVID-19. Higher pre-COVID-19 friend support predicted less (self-reported and parent-reported) internalizing problems during COVID-19, and this effect was not moderated by the time adolescents spent with friends or COVID-19-related stress. Friends may thus protect against developing internalizing symptoms in times of crisis. We also found the reverse effect: Internalizing problems before COVID-19 were predictive of friend support during COVID-19.
Keyphrases
  • coronavirus disease
  • sars cov
  • young adults
  • mental health
  • physical activity
  • healthcare
  • respiratory syndrome coronavirus
  • public health
  • depressive symptoms
  • sleep quality
  • stress induced