Which personal and social resources help adolescents to recover from negative affect in daily life? An experience sampling study

Holt, Nicola; Flórez-Varela, Ángela; Gómez-Restrepo, Carlos; Godoy-Casasbuenas, Natalia; Toyama, Mauricio; Hidalgo-Padilla, Liliana; Diez-Canseco, Francisco; Brusco, Luis Ignacio; Olivar, Natividad; Lucchetti, Santiago; Sureshkumar, Diliniya Stanislaus; Fung, Catherine; Priebe, Stefan

Abstract

Background: Reducing anxiety and depression of adolescents is a global health priority. Personal and social resources (e.g., hobbies, socializing) may reduce distress. Yet, there is insufficient understanding of how adolescents use such resources to reduce distress.

Objective: To identify resources that reduced distress in the everyday lives of adolescents, and whether resource use differed according to symptoms of anxiety and depression.

Methods: The experience sampling method was used, a longitudinal method requiring participants to report on context and mood at randomly selected moments across a week. 5558 reports were contributed by 151 adolescents, including 90 with symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. The study was conducted in the poorest neighbourhoods of Bogotá, Buenos Aires and Lima.

Results: Multi-level modelling indicated that using resources was significantly associated with less nervousness and sadness. Adolescents with symptoms were less likely to use some resources (e.g., sport). Cross-level interactions showed the efficacy of resources differed according to severity of symptomatology. For adolescents with symptoms, some resources (e.g., peer support) improved mood, while others (e.g., music listening) did not.

Discussion: Personal and social resources are important for reducing distress in the everyday life of adolescents, giving insight for potential interventions to help mitigate symptoms of anxiety and depression before escalation. Further research could assess the quality of experiences (e.g., appraisal) to deepen understanding of how engagement promotes resilience.

Conclusions: Care must be taken when recommending resource use, since some forms (e.g., music listening) may be unhelpful to adolescents with symptoms of anxiety and depression.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 23, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Nov 12, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jul 23, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 15, 2024
• Journal: Journal of Child and Adolescent Mental Health
• Print ISSN: 1728-0583
• Electronic ISSN: 1728-0591
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.2989/17280583.2024.2385308
• Keywords: adolescents; anxiety; depression; everyday resources; mood; resilience
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/12705130
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/journals/rcmh20