Subjective perception of COVID-19: A comprehensive assessment measure for adolescents and young people

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic is an adverse event and risk factor for the integral health of adolescents and young people, associated with stress disorders, anxiety, and depression; however, the ecological-transactional perspective supposed that the perception of the event or situation plays a central role in adaptation and mental health. Likewise, detecting risk-protective factors is the basis for effective intervention The purpose of this study was to develop a valid and reliable multidimensional measure to explore the perception and psychological responses of young people to the pandemic. An instrumental study was carried out and 727 adolescents aged 13 to 24 years (M= 18.36; SD= 2.9) from Mexico City participated. The COVID-19's Youth Perception Survey (COVID 19's YPS) was constructed which was applied online. A factor analysis using the principal components (n= 410) yielded a solution of eight factors: Fear and worries, Stress indicators, School pressures, Preventive behaviors, Changes in routine, Family dynamics, Relaxation and leisure, and Virtual socialization (EV= 59.07%). A confirmatory factor analysis using the maximum likelihood method (n= 317) corroborated an eight-factor model showing acceptable fit index, and it also shows a good internal consistency (α total= .863). These results suggest that the Survey is a valid and reliable measure that can be used to comprehensively assess adolescents and youth perception and responses to the pandemic, providing data to designing evidence-based intervention.