HELPING ADOLESCENTS TO BECOME RESILIENT
PEOPLE often depend on companionship and support from others to cope with the stresses of daily life. Social networks and support are linked to better mental and physical wellbeing.
These networks are particularly important in adolescence. Over the years we’ve done research looking at the role of social support for adolescent development and mental outcomes.
We gained insights into the stress- buffering effects of social networks among adolescents. For example, we’ve found that adolescents who perceived they had a high degree of social support appeared to be more resilient than their peers.
The “social effects” of Covid- 19 come with particular risks for young people’s mental health. Recent research has highlighted how loneliness and disease containment efforts among adolescents might lead to post- traumatic stress and mental health problems – even in later years. Specific groups of young people are at particular risk. These include adolescents exposed to domestic violence in their homes. Then there are adolescents with pre- existing mental health conditions, socialisation or learning difficulties, whose counselling and support systems may have been interrupted.
The family environment is key for adolescents, especially now when many young people are likely to be confined to their homes more than usual. But this is a stressful time for caregivers and adults too. It may be hard for them to be empathetic, listen to adolescents and pick up worrying changes in behaviour.
But help is available. One such programme is the Parenting for Lifelong Health project. The programme helps to improve parenting skills by building social support for parents and reducing parental stress. This programme has been shown to be effective and is now exploring ways to extend its reach through digital technology.
School is another key environment in adolescents’ lives and alternatives to school closures are already being considered and implemented in some countries. These include partial school openings, staggering school attendance and changes in school organisation structures to allow for alternative social distancing measures.
It is also important to consider health training for teachers and learners and, where possible, provide psychosocial support. Some African countries, including Mauritania and South Africa, have made phone consultations with doctors and counsellors available free of charge in response to Covid- 19.
Adolescents can be encouraged to sustain their social connections, for example through game nights on Zoom or other apps. And all over the world, young people have been tackling fear, anger and loneliness with photography, art, writing, storytelling and video essays of their lives. Many have started initiatives to tackle misinformation, and support the elderly and vulnerable households.
Limited access to technology and connectivity is still a problem. But several interventions could be replicated and scaled up. For example, some educational content is available for free online. Creative community- level initiatives can also encourage social networking where there are few digital resources. In Senegal, for example, young people were involved in the distribution of food and protective gear to vulnerable households at the height of the Covid- 19 crisis.
In addition, counsellors or community health workers may have to visit adolescents who are in great need.
The pandemic offers an opportunity to reimagine ways of supporting and empowering adolescents in different settings. This requires us to see them as capable agents of change and bearers of creative solutions, and not simply as intervention recipients.