Positive Adolescent Development During and After COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has served as a time of uncertainty and stress for people of all ages. However, adolescents may be at greatest risk for detrimental mental health outcomes due to these disturbances. Developmental milestones, such as socializing, establishing autonomy, and developing personal identity, are all imperative for healthy, positive adolescent development. These have all been at risk during the pandemic.  

Despite the challenges and harms of the pandemic, there have been numerous instances of teens actively coping with stressors, and even helping others in their communities to bring about good. Certain personal factors like emotion regulation, desires to fit in with others, and moral values are all important indicators of healthy, positive adjustment in adolescence. By gaining a better understanding of how teens have been successfully managing their responses to the pandemic, we hope to begin to inform parents, teachers, and teens themselves how to improve their mental health and social functioning during stressful times. These abilities mature during adolescence, and it is vital that we begin to provide the knowledge and skills that youth need to be better supported in their lives going forward. 

Therefore, our goal is to investigate the potential factors that have helped some teens cope with the stressors and obstacles of the pandemic. In our research, we will incorporate behavioral and physiological assessments to better understand how some youths have thrived, in order to develop new methods for supporting adolescents' mental health and well-being.