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Interactive effects of prenatal adversity and COVID-19 hardship on youth psychological distress: a longitudinal study
Yifan Wang1,2, Xinni Wang3, Chloé Voyer4
1School of Psychoeducation, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada.
Introduction:
The COVID-19 pandemic resulted in severe loss of life and increased anxiety as well as fear worldwide. This study explored whether pre-pandemic exposure to varying levels of perinatal maternal adversity coupled with pandemic-related experiences are related to youth distress levels.
Methods:
Data from 119 youth (aged 9-17) and their mothers were analyzed to assess the interactive effects of perinatal maternal adversity and pandemic-related objective hardship on youth psychological distress.
Results:
Youth-reported hardship models consistently explained more variance in their psychological distress. Youth-reported hardship, specifically daily life changes, predicted psychological distress, including PTSD symptoms and peritraumatic experiences during the pandemic.
Discussion:
Youths exposed to high perinatal maternal socio-environmental adversity demonstrated resilience when faced with pandemic disruptions, suggesting that alignment between early adversity and later stress can mitigate distress during crises.
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