Ordinary Magic: Resilience in Early Adolescence
While there are undoubtedly potential negative social, educational, and
mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown
on adolescents, a sole focus on risk will miss the young people who
evade difficulties and continue to thrive, despite adversity. In other
words, those adolescents who display resilience (Wright et al., 2013).
Just as we need to understand which young people are at increased risk
of mental health conditions during this pandemic, it is equally
important to understand which adolescents do well, and why (Dvorsky et
al., 2020). An understanding of the resilience processes that some
adolescents use to cope can advance our understanding of how young
people respond to crises, and can help inform the services and resources
offered (Dvorsky et al., 2020).
There is some research to suggest that certain traits such as an
optimistic outlook and intrinsic curiosity are important for promoting
resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic (Xie et al., 2020). For
instance, the aforementioned Chinese study reported that adolescents
with higher levels of optimism for the COVID-19 pandemic had lower
levels of anxiety and depression symptoms (Zhou et al., 2020). The TELL
study, a qualitative research project with older adolescents aged 16-19
years in the UK, also found that some young people attempted to adopt a
positive outlook in order to care for their wellbeing during the
pandemic (Demkowicz et al., 2020). Among participants in the TELL study,
it was common for this attempt at a positive mindset to be anintentional coping strategy for promoting good mental health.
Notably, many adolescents actively engaged in self-care and implemented
adaptive coping strategies in an attempt to look after their mental
health. These included engaging in enjoyable activities, creating a
routine, participating in hobbies, exercising regularly, and keeping in
touch with friends. A Portuguese study of adolescents and young adults
(aged 16-24) found similar themes regarding intentional coping
strategies (Branquinho et al., 2020).
Contrary to some reports, adolescents have reported benefits of
lockdown. They viewed it as an opportunity for growth and development,
to learn new skills, and welcomed the additional free time they had to
relax (Branquinho et al., 2020; Demkowicz et al., 2020). Others were
grateful for the opportunity to avoid the normal pressures of daily
life, particularly the social pressures to fit in at school (Demkowicz
et al., 2020). It is possible that for some young people, for instance
those who experience peer victimisation at school or who have
difficulties with social anxiety, that lockdown may even have been
preferable (Dvorsky et al., 2020). Thus, for some adolescents, the real
concern comes when they return to full-time schooling. It is currently
unclear how they will respond; there is a paucity of research in this
area. However, the additional disruption that lockdown brings, combined
with the perceived negative consequences of returning to school, may
well result in heightened levels of emotional distress for these young
people.