Distress and Positive Experiences Among Adolescents in Northern Chile in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic

A Qualitative Study

Datos Bibliográficos

ID13025307
AutoresKatherin Castillo-Morales (Universidad Santo Tomás), Ricardo Espinoza-Tapia (0000-0001-5743-0843, Universidad Católica del Norte, autor de correspondencia), Diego Portilla-Saavedra (0000-0002-5465-0629, Universidad Santo Tomás), Rodrigo Moya-Vergara (0000-0002-4726-2273, Universidad Católica del Norte)
Año2025
Volumen15
Número1
Páginas10-10
Fecha de publicación2025-01-09
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaSocieties (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 2075-4698 • E-ISSN: 2075-4698
EditorialMDPI AG (PUBLISHER • IT)
DOI10.3390/soc15010010
OpenAlexW4406217941
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas1
Referencias citadas47

The COVID-19 pandemic and the confinement measures adopted by most countries have impacted global mental health, with particular interest in the effects on adolescents due to the tension between lockdown measures and the challenges of their developmental stage. Therefore, this study examined the distress and positive experiences reported by adolescents in northern Chile during the pandemic. A comprehensive study was conducted among adolescents in northern Chile. Discussion groups were utilized to investigate their experiences during the pandemic. The discussions were transcribed, and their content was analyzed by thematic analysis to create emerging categories and subcategories. Eleven discussion groups were conducted with a total of 51 adolescents. The findings were organized into two categories: distress and positive experiences during the pandemic. The distress experiences category included experiences related to confinement, educational tensions, risk of contagion, being an adolescent, and anxious–depressive emotions and symptoms. Meanwhile, the positive experiences category highlighted experiences related to interpersonal relationships through social networks, hobbies, activism, and pets. This research provides guiding results for policymakers and mental health authorities to incorporate this information when creating initiatives for working with the adolescent population. It considers the impact on them, but also incorporates the reported positive experiences as coping mechanisms for other difficulties

Content analysis · Context (archaeology · Coping (psychology · Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19 · Developmental psychology · Disease · Distress · Environmental health · Geography · Interpersonal communication · Mental health · Pandemic · Population · Psychiatry · Qualitative research · Social science · Sociology · Thematic analysis · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · COVID-19 and Mental Health · Medicine · Psychology · Resilience and Mental Health · Social Psychology