Closeness to Parents and Experiencing Threats with COVID-19 Mediates the Link between Personality and Stress among Adolescents

Abstract

Purpose: many researchers have already established that the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic poses a threat to adolescent psychological health. Studies on the COVID-19 pandemic mainly focus on individual psychological consequences, such as anxiety, depression or stress. The presented study added a family context to psychological analyses of the COVID-19 pandemic in adolescence. We examined the mediational effects of closeness to parents and perceived pandemic-related threats to relationships between personality (emotional stability and agreeableness) and stress in adolescents. Methods: in total, 413 students from secondary schools in southern Poland completed questionnaires measuring stress, personality, closeness to parents and experiencing threats with COVID-19. Results: the results demonstrated that closeness with parents in conjunction with experiencing family-related threats and threats related to lifestyle changes were mediators between adolescent personality traits and the intensity of the stress experienced. Conclusions: closeness with parents and threats experienced with COVID-19 mediate relationships between personality traits (emotional stability and agreeableness) and the intensification of stress in adolescents.

Parental modelling impact on young people’s aggressive coping strategy in social conflict situations

“…The possibility of conflict can arise on any of these planes. Social contacts may involve conflicts with teachers, quarrels with schoolmates and friends, and arguments with parents and other family members (Jaworski, 2000;Kobus, Reyes, 2000;Lohman, Jarvis 2000;Guszkowska, Gorący, & Rychta-Siedlecka, 2001;Rostowska, 2001;Gawryś 2002;Smetana, Daddis, 2002;Różańska-Kowal, 2004;Jerzewska, 2006;Komendant, 2007;Woźniak-Krakowian, Wieczorek, 2009;Lachowska, 2010;Polak, 20010;Sikorski, 2010;Miłkowska, 2012;Gurba, 2020). This means that a young person, in making and implementing specific life plans, is exposed to conflict situations that are related to school, contacts with peers, and relationships within the family .…”

“…Such individuals are then formed within a sphere of constant conflict between what they want and what their parents expect of them. Many of such conflicts emerge in everyday situations -due to differing views, tastes, e.g., in matters related to clothing, music, television watching, computer use, schoolwork, the ways of spending pocket money, household chores, contacts with peers, leisure time, and the timing of outings (Garstka, 2011;Gurba, 2020;Filipczuk, 1987;Collins, 1990;Jaworski, 2000;Krzyśko, 1999;Lachowska, 2010;Łosiewicz, 2002;Montemayor, 1983;Riesch et al, 2000;Rostowska, 2001;Smetana, Yau, Restrepo, & Braeges, 1991;Sikorski, 2010).…”

“…Moreover, adolescence is a stage when people tend to discover new influences, new needs, and their value systems may change (Czerwińska-Jasiewicz, 2015). Therefore, the emergence of intergenerational conflict also stems from the distinctiveness of the value systems preferred by the adult world and by young people respectively (Gurba, 2020).…”

“…Conflicts in child-parent relationships are a common phenomenon during adolescence (Gurba, 2020;Jaworski, 2000). Adolescent children wish to liberate themselves from parental supervision, and through their behaviour, they demand more rights than previously.…”

Brazilian adolescents’ lifestyle in the COVID-19 pandemic: a mixed-methods study

“…In line with this, the qualitative findings show the presence of more family stress and greater affective detachment from peers during the pandemic. It is emphasized the protective importance of proximity to the family and peers in reducing the intensity of the stress experienced during the pandemic [ 14 ].…”