The kids are alright: adolescents’ experiences during COVID-19 disruption
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ILS-11-2021-0096 |
| Published date | 17 May 2022 |
| Date | 17 May 2022 |
| Pages | 529-554 |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,Library & information services |
| Author | Irene Lopatovska,Radhika Garg,Olivia Turpin,Ji Hee Yoon,Laura Vroom,Diedre Brown |
The kids are alright:
adolescents’experiences during
COVID-19 disruption
Irene Lopatovska
School of Information, Pratt Institute, Manhattan, New York, USA
Radhika Garg
School of Information, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, USA, and
Olivia Turpin,Ji Hee Yoon,Laura Vroom and Diedre Brown
School of Information, Pratt Institute, Manhattan, New York, USA
Abstract
Purpose –This study aimed to understand adolescents’experiences, negative feelings and coping
mechanisms associated with the majordisruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this
study was to develop a baseline for understanding adolescents and their environment to assist future
developmentsof technological and other solutions to mitigate adolescents’loneliness,improve their wellbeing
and strengthentheir resilience.
Design/methodology/approach –The data about adolescents’experiences during the COVID-19
pandemic was collected through virtualinterviews conducted via Zoom. A total of 39 adolescents (aged 12
through 18 years) primarily fromthe North East of the USA participated in the study. The transcripts of the
interviewswere analyzed using thematic analysis.
Findings –This study foundevidence of negative disruptions to adolescents’social,learning and emotional
routines. This study also found that in dealing with the effects of COVID-19 disruption, most of the
participants exhibited five key attributes of individual resilience, including social competence, problem-
solving, criticalconsciousness, autonomy and a sense of purpose. External factorssupporting resilience were
also mentioned,including technology resources, family, schooland broader community.
Originality/value –This study relied on first-handadolescents’reports of their experiences, feelings and
coping strategies during the pandemic. This study applied a resilience framework to interpret the findings
and translatethem into recommendations for further developmentof support systems for adolescents.
Keywords Adolescence, Coping strategies, COVID-19, Loneliness, Resilience, Technology,
Wellbeing, Interviews
Paper type Research paper
1. Introduction
Studies on the COVID-19 pandemichave shown increases in anxiety, depression and overall
mental distress in populationsas a direct result of the pandemic (Hyland et al.,2020;Li et al.,
The authors are grate ful to their particip ants for sharing their stories with them. The a uthors
would also like to than k anonymous reviewers for their valu able feedback in finalizing this article
and to acknowledge the work of all the student researchers who participated in this project: Daniel
Anger, Craig Nielsen, Kelli Hayes, Karin Roslund, Nina Keller and Mary Dickson. The study was
partially support ed by the Faculty Innov ation Grant provide d by the Pratt Institut e School of
Information.
The kids are
alright
529
Received4 November 2021
Revised15 March 2022
11April 2022
Accepted18 April 2022
Informationand Learning
Sciences
Vol.123 No. 9/10, 2022
pp. 529-554
© Emerald Publishing Limited
2398-5348
DOI 10.1108/ILS-11-2021-0096
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
https://www.emerald.com/insight/2398-5348.htm
2020;Pierce et al., 2020). While the pandemic has affected people on a global scale, it can
have significant consequences for vulnerable groups from both younger and older
populations (Gavin et al.,2020). Adolescents might be especially at risk, as they are
experiencing the pandemic at a critical timein their lives when peer interaction is crucial to
their social development, yet theseinteractions have been severely limited because of social
distancing (Rawat and Sehrawat, 2021). When disconnected from their peers, adolescents
are also easily prone to experiencing loneliness (Yuan, 2021). The need to understand and
address this onset of pandemic-related distress in adolescents is critical for preventing
mental illnesses that have been shown to most likely occur during the mid- and post-
pandemic phases (Gavinet al., 2020;Hoffart et al., 2020).
In the spring and summer of 2021, we conducteda study to:
understand adolescent experiences during the pandemic, with a particular focus on
loneliness; and
explore the potential of using intelligent personal assistants (IPAs, for example,
Apple Siri and Amazon Alexa) to mitigate loneliness and other negative feelings.
This article focuses on exploratory findings pertaining to the first part of the study that
aimed to understand the changes brought by isolation and distancing measures to
adolescents’routines,participants’reactions to these changes, with a particular focus on the
feeling of loneliness and the coping mechanismsused during the COVID-19 disruption. The
reported qualitative part of the study was grounded in the constructivist approach used to
understand realitiesof adolescents from their own perspectives (Merriam and Tisdell, 2016).
2. Relevant literature
During the time of the study, few reports were published about the state of adolescents
during COVID-19 socialisolation (mentioned below). To prepare for the study,we examined:
existing reports on the effects of the pandemic on wellbeing;
general literature about adolescents and their experiences with loneliness and other
negative emotions; and
popular strategies for improving mental health and resiliency.
2.1 Effects of the pandemic on wellbeing
Studies published around the time of the study tended to suggestthat the pandemic has had
a significant impact on mental health, with stress, anxiety and depression rising across
various populations (Salari et al.,2020). Loneliness levels in particular have been shown to
increase among vulnerable groups (Bu et al.,2020;Shah et al.,2020), of which predictors
include younger age, lower household income, lower levels of education, being a student,
being a woman, living in an urban area and having a previous mental health condition(Bu
et al., 2020;Hoffart et al.,2020). Adolescents meet the profile of the vulnerablepopulation by
already being predisposed to experiencinghigher levels of loneliness in comparison to other
age groups (Beam and Kim, 2020). Recent studies of COVID-19 and loneliness, depression
and sadness indicate that social isolationand pandemic stress amplified negative feelings to
the point where they could become a public health issue for adolescents and younger
populations who need social interaction for development (Gavin et al.,2020;Komisar, 2021;
Leeb et al., 2020).
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