Background: Humans are a social species that naturally crave and create social structures.¹ The COVID-19 pandemic has led teenagers into an unfamiliar social environment. As a result of multiple public health emergency measures, such as the provincial lockdowns, Canadian teenagers have been under considerable amounts of increased stress from social isolation. This has led to an increased prevalence and deterioration of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, irritability and more.² From 2019-2020, 22.0% of teens between the ages of 13 and 18 in North America have been reported for cannabis usage and 22.7% for usage of e-cigarettes. In a study, Damas et al. have found that 49.3% of teens that were studied for using substances were doing it alone during the pandemic.³

Objective: This study will be examining the various coping methods students aged 14 to 18 have been using to manage stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, to ultimately identify if the pandemic has reinforced negative coping behaviors. 

Methodology: We will be quantitatively assessing how the COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative stress management behaviors amongst teens aged 14 to 18. This study will be conducted virtually through an online survey, which will aid in identifying the different methods of stress management teens have sought. Furthermore, we will be examining whether the pandemic has increased, decreased, initiated or stopped such adverse behaviors. This study will approximately span over the next 4-6 weeks to identify whether there is a correlation between the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of negative strategies to deal with stress.

Conclusions: The use of negative strategies amongst adolescents, such as substance use and frequent use of social media, have worsened due to the increased levels of stress associated with the pandemic; leading to a toll on mental health.⁴ Moreover, previously emerging diseases like EVALI (e-cigarette, or vaping, use-associated lung injury) may have an increased incidence as a result of stressors related to public health measures, social isolation, and change in academic and collaborative environments. The results of the study can help to initiate necessary services to provide aid to teens during the pandemic to better cope with the stressors and help prevent further substance abuse.

References:

1. Nature Publishing Group. (2018, July 9). The cooperative human. Nature News. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-018-0389-1.
2.  Cost, K.T., Crosbie, J., Anagnostou, E. et al. Mostly worse, occasionally better: impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health of Canadian children and adolescents. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-021-01744-3
3. Dumas, T. M., Ellis, W., & Litt, D. M. (2020). What Does Adolescent Substance Use Look Like During the COVID-19 Pandemic? Examining Changes in Frequency, Social Contexts, and Pandemic-Related Predictors. The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine, 67(3), 354–361. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.06.018
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, November 27). Outbreak of Lung Injury Associated with the Use of E-Cigarette, or Vaping, Products. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/basic_information/e-cigarettes/severe-lung-disease.html.