COVID-19-Related Posttraumatic Stress in U.S. and Canadian Youth in the First Year of the Pandemic

Objective: Disasters and public health emergencies raise child/adolescent risk for posttraumatic stress (PTS). This study examined prospective predictors of COVID-related PTS in a large sample of U.S. and Canadian youth. Demographics, pre-pandemic contextual factors, baseline clinical factors, and pandemic experiences were examined. We hypothesized pandemic proximity/exposure and pandemic-related financial hardship in the first seven months, as well as baseline resource insecurity, internalizing symptoms, and female gender, would predict subsequent COVID-related PTS. Method: A prospective two-wave study of English- or Spanish-speaking youth ages 5–17 years (N = 1,413; 46.2% female; 33.4% racial/ethnic minority youth), and their caregivers, was conducted. The sample was recruited via crowdsourcing methods (e.g. existing community samples, advertisements, online recruitment). Data were collected via online caregiver-report surveys. Recruitment began 3/20/2020 (<10 days after pandemic declaration); follow-up assessments were collected M = 6.56 months later (7 months into pandemic). Results: Maximum likelihood estimation linear regression indicated baseline internalizing problems, pre-pandemic food insecurity, and COVID-19-related financial hardship predicted youth PTS at follow-up, whereas COVID-19 proximity/exposure and youth gender, age, and race/ethnicity did not. Youth with baseline internalizing problems had eight times the odds of developing probable PTSD than youth without baseline internalizing problems. The effect of COVID-19-related financial hardship on PTS was particularly high among youth who went into the pandemic with food insecurity. Conclusion: The financial toll the pandemic took on a child’s family and whether there were pre-pandemic mental health or resource-related vulnerabilities may have been more determinant of individual youth PTS than the child’s degree of direct COVID-19 proximity or family exposure.

Duke Scholars

Author Robin Gurwitch Psychiatry, Child & Family Mental Health & Community Psychia ...