COVID-19-related stressors and depression in Chinese adolescents: The effects of life history strategies and gender

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way people live, affecting both their physical and mental health. Adolescents are vulnerable to the stress of the pandemic, and may experience indicators of psychological distress, such as depression. This study aimed to examine the impact of COVID-19-related stressors on depression and the mediating role of life history strategies. Methods: A two-wave longitudinal study was conducted with 1123 adolescents (51.20% girls, M-age = 14.30) recruited from three junior high schools in the Northeastern province of China. Adolescents' life history strategies, depressive symptoms, and demographic variables were assessed at Time 1 (November 2019) and Time 2 (August 2020), and adolescents' experience of COVID-19-related stressors was assessed at Time 2. None of participants was infected by COVID-19 virus. Results: COVID-19-related stressors were positively associated with depressive symptoms at Time 2 (beta = 0.08, p < 0.01), after controlling for gender, age, SES and depressive symptoms at Time 1. And life history strategies partially mediated the relation of pandemic stress to depression (indirect effect = 0.02, p < 0.05, 95% CI [0.004, 0.034]). There were no gender differences in the relations between stress on depression. Limitations: The sample was from a district where the pandemic was not very severe, which may limit generalizability of the results. Conclusions: This study revealed that COVID-19-related stressors may have a long-term impact on adolescents, increasing depression through speeding up their life history strategies. Interventions should focus on life history strategies, particularly cognitive style, among adolescents during and after the pandemic.

Automated summary

This study found that COVID-19-related stress may increase depression in adolescents by accelerating their life history strategies. This suggests that interventions during and after the pandemic should focus on the life history strategies of adolescents, particularly cognitive style.