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Literature Review

Cynthia Ibarra

California State University Channel Islands

HLTH 499

Professor Ashley Winans

July 24, 2022

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This literature review will be focussing on the importance of mental health. Mental health

has recently been a more talked about topic since the pandemic. It is something that could have

been more discussed in the program. COVID-19 had a huge impact on many people around the

world whether it is in their personal life or social life. It brought many drastic changes that many

were not expecting that affected their mental health. “As a result of social isolation, and the

constant concern of infectivity, mental health consequences that are associated with the

COVID-19 crisis are monumental” (Jones et.al, 2021). Those who were affected by it resulted in

having depression, anxiety, and stress. This is one of the many reasons why it is important to

pursue and utilize all the resources that are available.

So many lives have been lost since COVID-19 started. Many were obligated to isolate

and stay at home. The stay at home order affected many globally. Isolation was not the easiest

thing for many. There was not much attention to the psychological toll of COVID-19 on

adolescent mental health (Jones et.al, 2021). The focus has been mainly on the elderly

population. “Due to the negative outcomes associated with poor mental health statuses among

adolescents, such as suicide, behavior problems, and emotional distress and the need for quality

research to build resilience and to reduce anxiety among adolescents, it is imperative to review

the impact of COVID-19 on adolescent health in the United States and abroad in order to

understand the global state of adolescent mental health and to provide strategies that prevent

poor mental health outcomes, such as anxiety and depression, presently and in the future” (Jones

et.al, 2021). At the adolescent age you are at the time of your life where you want to go out and

hang out with your best friends. That was taken from many causing them depression or even

suicidal thouhgts.
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From the research that was done it was shown that anxiety, depression, and other

psychological disorders/distress came up in the study that was done. Studies were conducted in

China, the United States, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Japan, the Philippines, and the United

Kingdom. What caused anxiety from the study was having low to medium support among

adolescents. The study in China pointed out that some were getting depression off of using too

much social media. There were some psychological disorders and psychological distress. The

study done in the Philippines experienced psychological impairments because of the pandemic.

Negative coping skills from trauma and stress were found in the study in China among junior

high and high school students. A study from Canada noticed that there was an increase of usage

of drugs, alcohol, and cannabis among adolescents. Through all of this there were negative and

positive benefits. A positive benefit was being able to spend more time with family.

There was sufficient evidence that proved that the pandemic impacted the mental health

of many adolescents. Having to isolate, quarantine, and social distance became difficult for

many. Difficult enough that it started to affect their mental health. Another thing that was a

concern was addiction. The way that many cope with their mental health is by doing drugs or

drinking alcohol. “Understanding their emotions and responses is essential to properly address

their needs during this pandemic” (Irman et.al, 2022).

There are many resources that can be useful when going through difficult times. It is a

matter of having the will to accept it and reach for the help. It is never too late to get help before

something tragic occurs. As time goes by and mistakes are learned there will be improvements

that will be done to have resources prepared if an emergency like this ever happens.
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References

Blanchflower, D. G., & Bryson, A. (2022). Covid and mental health in America. PLoS ONE,

17(7), e0269855.

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A711135038/HWRC?u=csuci&sid=bookmark-HWRC&xi

d=3010f268

Imran, N., Zeshan, M., & Pervaiz, Z. (2020). Mental health considerations for children &

adolescents in COVID-19 Pandemic. Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences,

36(COVID19-S4), S67–S72. https://doi.org/10.12669/pjms.36.COVID19-S4.2759

Jones, E., Mitra, A. K., & Bhuiyan, A. R. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on Mental Health in

Adolescents: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Environmental Research

and Public Health, 18(5), 2470. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052470

Lee, C., Wozniak, L. A., Soprovich, A. L., Sharma, V., Healy, B., Samanani, S., & Eurich, D. T.

(2022). Mental health experiences with COVID-19 public health measures in an Alberta

First Nations Community. International Journal of Mental Health Systems, 16(1), NA.

https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A702082637/HWRC?u=csuci&sid=bookmark-HWRC&xi

d=0ba0e72b

Pfefferbaum, B., & North, C. S. (2020). Mental health and the Covid-19 pandemic. New England

Journal of Medicine, 383(6), 510-512.