How are the youth? A brief‐longitudinal study on symptoms, alexithymia and expressive suppression among Italian adolescents during COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

Studies documented the negative consequences on adolescents' mental health of the stay‐at‐home measures adopted in reaction to the COVID‐19 outbreak. However, few contributions focused on the psychopathological trajectories after the end of these stressful measures or investigated the moderating role of this context in the relationship linking psychological symptoms with emotion regulation. This brief longitudinal study was performed with two measurement times: during the severe lockdown (T1), and when the restrictive measures were relaxed (T2). Ninety‐three community adolescents (45% boys; M age = 14.94 years, SD = 1.64) completed the Youth Self Report , the Social Media Disorder Scale , the Binge Eating Scale , the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire and the Toronto Alexithymia Scale 20 items . Except for binge eating and externalising symptoms, all variables significantly decreased between T1 and T2. The relationship between expressive suppression and binge eating scores significantly decreased across time whereas the link between alexithymia and internalising symptoms increased with time. The study supported the idea that low‐risk adolescents experienced psychological relief from the relaxation of stay‐at‐home measures. Results suggest the importance of considering contextual factors when explaining the role of expressive suppression and alexithymia in binge eating and internalising symptoms among adolescents.

Loneliness, affective disorders, suicidal ideation, and the use of psychoactive substances in a sample of adolescents during the COVID‐19 pandemic: A cross‐sectional study

“…The Italian version of ASEBA proved to be a reliable instrument, with Cronbach's α values ranging between 0.71 and 0.95 (Pace & Muzi, 2019). Also in this study Cronbach's α values were good ranging from 0.69 to 0.95.…”

Mental Imagery in the Relationship between Alexithymia and Parental Psychological Control

“…While it may not align consistently with the notion of whether alexithymia is a stable or unstable personality trait, it is evident that external pressures can indeed elevate the levels of alexithymia [ 79 , 80 , 81 ]. Longitudinal studies are essential to explore the development of alexithymia among diverse cohorts, providing a comprehensive understanding of approaches to managing the health challenges faced by individuals with pronounced alexithymic personality traits [ 82 , 83 ].…”

Twenty years of emotional-behavioral problems of community adolescents living in Italy measured through the Achenbach system of empirically based assessment (ASEBA): a systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In light of recent literature findings suggesting an increase in emotional-behavioral difficulties after the COVID-19 pandemic ( 6 ), although not completely supported by Italian literature ( 89 ), this review aimed to analyze differences in studies published pre- or post-pandemic. Unfortunately, given that only four studies out of 34 were published post-pandemic ( 50 , 53 , 64 , 67 ), it was impossible to carry out analyses helpful to increase the knowledge about the effect of the pandemic.…”