A new integrated approach for adolescent health and well-being: the AVATAR project

Mastorci, Francesca; Bastiani, Luca; Trivellini, Gabriele; Doveri, Cristina; Vassalle, Cristina; Pingitore, Alessandro

doi:10.1186/s12955-020-01291-6

Cited by 20 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…The present study explores for the first time, to our knowledge, the health-related quality of life in the early adolescents during COVID-19 outbreak, showing wide-ranging modifications, both from the psychological and social point of view, related to gender and housing characteristics. An important characteristic of this study, that makes it different from the previous ones, was the opportunity to assess the possible acute effects of quarantine with respect to a standard condition, since the same questionnaires have been filled out by the same students at the beginning of the school and during CQ ( 20 – 22 , 29 ). Furthermore, this study conducted during the quarantine is different from the others assessing the long-term events.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The survey, AVATAR COVID-19, was conducted, during Phase 1 of the Italian lockdown (mid-late April 2020), using an online questionnaire. Ten junior high schools (middle schools) participated in the AVATAR COVID-19 study; a section of AVATAR project aimed to develop a new tool to assess the lifestyle habits, social context, emotional status, and mental skills in adolescents, and to define an integrated index of the best indicators of well-being ( 20 – 22 ).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Therefore, the current study investigated health-related quality of life (physical, psychological, family and peer relationships, autonomy, homeschooling, sleep quality, and lifestyle habits) in early Italian adolescents during Phase 1 of the Italian lockdown. This was possible using a web platform ( www.euroavatar.eu ) based on a wide range of data integration, already used by high schools joining the AVATAR (A new purpose for the promotion and evaluation of health and well-being among healthy teenagers) project, in order to monitor and promote the perception of adolescents on health and well-being ( 20 – 22 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health-Related Quality of Life in Italian Adolescents During Covid-19 Outbreak

et al. 2021

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Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak represented an experience of social isolation potentially leading to changes in the health quality of life. The aim of this study is to investigate the health-related quality of life during quarantine in early adolescents. Data were collected from 1,289 adolescents (mean age, 12.5; male, 622), at the beginning of the school year (September 2019, Standard Condition, SC) as part of the AVATAR project and during Phase 1 of the Italian lockdown (mid-late April 2020) (COVID-19 Quarantine, CQ) using an online questionnaire. In the CQ period, with respect to SC, adolescents showed lower perception in the dimensions, such as psychological (p = 0.001), physical well-being (p = 0.001), mood/emotion (p = 0.008), autonomy (p = 0.001), and financial resources (p = 0.018). Relationship with the family (p = 0.021) and peers (p = 0.001), as well as the perception of bullying (p = 0.001) were reduced. In lifestyle, adolescents developed higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet (p = 0.001). Adolescents living in the village had greater reduction in both autonomy (p = 0.002) and peer relationships (p = 0.002). Moreover, the perception of physical well-being was lower in those living in the city instead of those living in the countryside (p = 0.03), in an apartment instead of a detached house (p = 0.002), and in those who did not have green space (p = 0.001). Gender effect emerged for the psychological (p = 0.007) and physical well-being (p = 0.001), mood/emotion (p = 0.001), and self-perception (p = 0.001). The study showed that health-related quality of life during quarantine changed in its psychosocial dimensions, from mood and self-esteem to social relationships, helping to define the educational policies at multiple points in the promotion process of health.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health-Related Quality of Life in Italian Adolescents During Covid-19 Outbreak

et al. 2021

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“…In this view, AVATAR project. "A new purpose for promotion and eVAluation of healTh and well-being Among healthy teenageRs" aims to promote well-being in adolescents thanks to a systemic and multi-stakeholder approach, which aims to create a network between the different figures and environments that revolve around the adolescent (family, school, peers, community) [3][4][5]. In particular, a section of this project is addressed to assess the potential risk factors of school drop-out and to prevent it through training/ educational and community programs.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

An innovative approach to study the interaction between psychosocial profile and school drop-out

Mastorci¹,

Macelloni²,

Zavanella³

et al. 2021

Ment Health Addict Res

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Adolescence is a transitional period from childhood to adulthood in which adolescents experienced physical, psychological, emotional, and social changes. It is both the healthiest period of the lifespan with respect to measurable parameters of psychophysical health, but at the same time, about half of the mental health problems in adults are estimated to have their onset during this critical time window. Although improving health and well-being of adolescents is a prominent global theme, health policies have responded in a one way approach, that is to evaluating only rates of diseases or negative health behaviours, such as addiction. To our knowledge, it is not available an integrated framework for psychosocial monitoring in youth that encompasses different dimensions of health in relationship with addiction vulnerability. Here, thanks to our experimental evidence collected in adolescents, we suggest a new approach in the field of mental health and prevention and treatment of substance use and abuse.

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“…In addition, adolescence is also a "sensitive window" of brain development and re nement, in which social environment can exercise strong impact on resilience or vulnerability [11]. In fact, on one side, adolescence is considered a time of good health when disease burden is low, on the other, during this time increased susceptibility to the onset of mental diseases [12]. Actually, the concurrent psychosocial alterations due to COVID-19 can seriously leave a negative impact on adolescents' health, both in acute and long-term.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Well-Being Perception During COVID-19 Pandemic in Healthy Adolescents: Evidence From the Avatar Study

Mastorci

Bastiani

Trivellini

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Background COVID-19 pandemic provided an extraordinary and naturalistic context to observe young people’s psychosocial profile and to study how a condition of environmental deprivation and lack of direct social contact, affect the well-being and health status of adolescents. The current study explored whether the COVID-19 outbreak changes, in the short term, the acute well-being perception in adolescents, as measured by a Personalised Well-being Index (PWBI) and the four components affecting health (i.e. lifestyle habits, social context, emotional status, mental skills), in a sample of early adolescent students. Methods Data were collected in 1019 adolescents (boys 48.3%, mean age 12.53 ± 1.25), at the beginning of school year (Baseline Condition, BC) as part of the AVATAR project and during the Italian lockdown phase (LP) using online questionnaire. Results During COVID-19 quarantine, adolescents showed a lower PWBI (p = 0.000) as compared to the baseline conditions. Considering the four health-related well-being components, lifestyle habits (p = 0.000), social context (p = 0.000), and emotional status (p = 0.000), showed significantly lower values during lockdown phase than baseline ones. However, mental skills, in LP, displayed a significant increase as compared to pre-COVID conditions (p = 0.000). Conclusions In this study, we have provided data on the personalised well-being index and the different components affecting health in adolescents during the COVID-19 lockdown, showing a general decreased in well-being perception, expressed in the lifestyle habits, social, and emotional components, demonstrating detrimental effects in the first phase of quarantine on adolescents’psychosocial profile. Our result shed new light on adolescence as a crucial period of risk behaviour, especially when social support is lacking.

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A new integrated approach for adolescent health and well-being: the AVATAR project

Cited by 20 publications

References 45 publications

Health-Related Quality of Life in Italian Adolescents During Covid-19 Outbreak

Health-Related Quality of Life in Italian Adolescents During Covid-19 Outbreak

An innovative approach to study the interaction between psychosocial profile and school drop-out

Well-Being Perception During COVID-19 Pandemic in Healthy Adolescents: Evidence From the Avatar Study

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