Seeking Help From Trusted Adults in Response to Peers' Social Media Posts About Mental Health Struggles: Qualitative Interview Study Among Latinx Adolescents

The Double-Edged Sword of Online Learning for Ethnoracial Differences in Adolescent Mental Health During Late Period of the COVID-19 Pandemic in the United States: National Survey

BACKGROUND

Despite several theories suggesting online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic would aggravate ethnoracial disparities in mental health among adolescents, extant findings suggest no ethnoracial differences in mental health or that those from minoritized ethnoracial groups reported better mental health than their White counterparts.

OBJECTIVE

This study aimed to identify why findings from prior studies appear to not support that ethnoracial disparities in mental health were aggravated by testing 2 pathways. In pathway 1 pathway, online learning was associated with reporting fewer confidants, which in turn was associated with poorer mental health. In pathway 2, online learning was associated with reporting better sleep, which in turn was associated with better mental health.

METHODS

We analyzed survey data from a US sample (N=540) of 13- to 17-year-olds to estimate how school modality was associated with mental health via the 2 pathways. The sample was recruited from the AmeriSpeak Teen Panel during spring of 2021, with an oversample of Black and Latino respondents. Ethnoracial categories were Black, Latino, White, and other. Mental health was measured with the 4-item Patient Health Questionnaire, which assesses self-reported frequency of experiencing symptoms consistent with anxiety and depression. School modality was recorded as either fully online or with some in-person component (fully in-person or hybrid). We recorded self-reports of the number of confidants and quality of sleep. Covariates included additional demographics and access to high-speed internet. We estimated bivariate associations between ethnoracial group membership and both school modality and mental health. To test the pathways, we estimated a path model.

RESULTS

Black and Latino respondents were more likely to report being in fully online learning than their White counterparts (P<.001). Respondents in fully online learning reported fewer confidants than those with any in-person learning component (β=-.403; P=.001), and reporting fewer confidants was associated with an increased likelihood of reporting symptoms consistent with anxiety (β=-.121; P=.01) and depression (β=-.197; P<.001). Fully online learning respondents also reported fewer concerns of insufficient sleep than their in-person learning counterparts (β=-.162; P=.006), and reporting fewer concerns was associated with a decreased likelihood of reporting symptoms consistent with anxiety (β=.601; P<.001) and depression (β=.588; P<.001). Because of these countervailing pathways, the total effect of membership in a minoritized ethnoracial group on mental health was nonsignificant.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings compel more nuanced discussions about the consequences of online learning and theorizing about the pandemic's impact on minoritized ethnoracial groups. While online learning may be a detriment to social connections, it appears to benefit sleep. Interventions should foster social connections in online learning and improve sleep, such as implementing policies to enable later start times for classes. Future research should incorporate administrative data about school modality, rather than relying on self-reports.

Protective Factors for Multiple Forms of Interpersonal Violence experienced by Adolescent Latinas

Interpersonal violence during adolescence is associated with a variety of detrimental physical and mental health outcomes. Cross-sectional data from Latinas (n = 1087) attending 19 high schools in Colorado during the 2017-2018 school year were analyzed to capture protective factors associated with interpersonal violence victimization. The purpose of the present study is to inform the literature on the potential protective factors for multiple forms of victimization experienced by adolescent Latinas. A series of multiple regression models were conducted for the outcomes of peer victimization, dating violence victimization, sexual violence victimization, and polyvictimization. Specifically, the eight protective factors included family support, positive friends, generosity, trusted adults, healthy activities, spirituality, access to counseling, and access to medical services. Results indicated that family support, access to counseling, access to medical services, and healthy activities were each negatively associated with various forms of interpersonal victimization. However, other protective factors like generosity and trusted adults were positively associated with other forms of interpersonal victimization. As the Latinx community continues to grow in the U.S., it is imperative that interpersonal violence prevention approaches center the experiences of adolescent Latinas.