Dr. Nathan Fox to Study COVID-19 Effects on Adolescent Mental Health
Friday, April 10, 2020
The University of Maryland Division of Research announced on April 9, 2020, nine recipients of the Coronavirus Research Seed Fund Award, one of whom is Dr. Nathan Fox, Distinguished University Professor in the Department of Human Development and Quantitative Methodology.
Dr. Fox's project, Adolescent Mental Health in Response to COVID-19, has two primary goals.
- To examine the trajectory of mental health in response to the pandemic. With a monthly assessment, the study will examine if mental health problems and the need for mental health services increase over the next three months.
- To examine the factors that exacerbate or reduce the negative impact of the pandemic on adolescents. Specifically, the study will look at the effects temperament, social support, and parental stress and psychopathology have on adolescents.
In a former study two years ahead of the pandemic, Dr. Fox collected physiological, behavioral, and interpersonal data of adolescents and their primary caregiver from infancy (4 months) through adolescence (age 15). This group will be assessed again for this current COVID-19 study, and the earlier data set will serve as a point of comparison.
Much of Dr. Fox's work, including the former study, has focused on the temperament of behavioral inhibition and the role attention plays between temperament and anxiety. Research in this subject suggests adolescents who scored high on Behavioral Inhibition (BI) as young children were at greater risk of developing mental health problems later in life. They tend to be more fearful and less tolerant of new and uncertain situations. As such, Dr. Fox hypothesizes they will display increased anxiety and depression compared to their non-inhibited peers.
Parents, too, may impact how adolescents feel if they are under stress, perhaps due to their health, employment status, or financial stability. Social support, however, may make adolescents more resilient.
The outcomes of this crucial study can have widespread applications in the field of mental health research. It can advance the field's understanding of early developmental indicators and interpersonal factors. It can also inform the community on the mental health needs and expectations of adolescents to guide prevention and intervention strategies aimed at boosting mental health.
