Background
The COVID-19 pandemic created unpredictable circumstances resulting in increased psychological
strain. Here we investigate pandemic-related alterations in emotion regulation in
adolescents assessed before and during the pandemic. We also take biological age into
account in the response to the pandemic.
Methods
Mann-Whitney U tests were conducted to compare baseline data on the Difficulties in
Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) total scores of a pre-pandemic adolescent cohort (n
= 241) with those obtained during the second wave of the pandemic (n = 266). We estimated
biological age based on an ultrasonic boneage assessment procedure in a subgroup of
males, including grammar school and vocational school students in the 9th and 10th
grades, and analyzed their data independently.
Findings
There is a gender difference in the timing of vulnerability for pandemic-related stress
in grammar school students: females are affected a year earlier than males. Vocational
school male students mature faster than grammar school male students, and the timing
of emotional vulnerability also precedes that of the grammar school students'.
Discussion
We interpret our findings within a developmental model suggesting that there might
be a window of highest vulnerability in adolescent emotion regulation. The timing
of the window is determined by both chronological and biological age, and it is different
for females and males.
Application to practice
Defining the exact temporal windows of vulnerability for different adolescent cohorts
allows for the timely integration of preventive actions into adolescent care to protect
mental health during future chronic stressful situations.
