Socioeconomic inequality in the worsening of psychosocial wellbeing via disrupted social conditions during COVID-19 among adolescents in Hong Kong: self-resilience matters

Frontiers in Public Health

Public Health

Yat-Hang Chan¹  Hung Wong²  Gary Ka-Ki Chung³  Roger Yat-Nork Chung⁴  Esther Sui-Chu Ho⁵  Thomas Sze-Kit Lee⁵  Ji-Kang Chen⁶  Siu-Ming Chan⁷ 

[1] CUHK Institute of Health Equity, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China;CUHK Institute of Health Equity, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China;Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China;CUHK Institute of Health Equity, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China;JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China;CUHK Institute of Health Equity, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China;JC School of Public Health and Primary Care, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China;CUHK Centre for Bioethics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China;Department of Educational Administration and Policy, Faculty of Education, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China;Department of Social Work, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shatin, Hong Kong SAR, China;Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, The City University of Hong Kong, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China;

关键词: adolescents;    COVID-19;    psychosocial wellbeing;    resilience;    socioeconomic inequalities;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2023.1136744

 received in 2023-01-03, accepted in 2023-03-27,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundAdolescents, especially the socioeconomically disadvantaged, are facing devastating psychosocial impact of the COVID-19 pandemic during their critical developmental period. This study aims to (i) examine the socioeconomic patterning of the worsening of psychosocial wellbeing, (ii) delineate the underlying mediating factors (i.e., overall worry about COVID-19, family's financial difficulty, learning problems, and loneliness), and (iii) explore the moderating effect of resilience in the inter-relationship among adolescents under COVID-19.MethodsBased on maximum variation sampling of 12 secondary schools of diverse socioeconomic background in Hong Kong, 1018 students aged 14-16 years were recruited and completed the online survey between September and October 2021. Multi-group structural equation modeling (SEM) by resilience levels was employed to delineate the pathways between socioeconomic position and the worsening of psychosocial wellbeing.ResultsSEM analysis showed a significant total effect of socioeconomic ladder with the worsening of psychosocial wellbeing during the pandemic in the overall sample (β = −0.149 [95% CI = −0.217 – −0.081], p < 0.001), which operated indirectly through learning problems and loneliness (both p < 0.001 for their indirect effects). Consistent pattern with stronger effect size was observed in the lower resilience group; nonetheless, the associations were substantially mitigated in the higher resilience group.ConclusionIn addition to facilitating self-directed learning and easing loneliness during the pandemic, evidence-based strategies to build up resilience among adolescents are critical to buffer against the adverse socioeconomic and psychosocial impacts of the pandemic or other potential catastrophic events in the future.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Chung, Chan, Lee, Chan, Chen, Wong, Chung and Ho.