Purpose
This study evaluated the impact of COVID-19 on adolescents and young people living in South-East Nigeria.
Methods
This was a mixed-method (online and on-site) cross-sectional survey of adolescents and young people living in South-East Nigeria. Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect relevant data which was analyzed using STATA 16.0 with p < 0.05 adjudged as significant. Ethical clearance was obtained from the University of Nigeria Teaching Hospital, Enugu, Nigeria (NHREC/05/01/2008B-FWA00002458-1RB00002323).
Results
Among the 229 youth studied, 158(69.0%) were female; the mean age of respondents was 17.8 ± 3.4 years. Twenty seven (11.8%) respondents were 10-13 years old (early adolescents), 43(18.8%) 14-16 years old (middle adolescents), 95 (41.4%) were 17-19 years (late adolescents), while 64 (28.0%) were young people aged 20-24 years. Most participants (n=207, 90.4%) were students, and 159 (69.4%) lived with both parents. All participants were aware of coronavirus disease while 180 (79.7%) participants correctly answered that it was caused by a virus, 10 (4.4%) felt it was caused by a 5G network, and 19 (8.3%) stated that it was a punishment from God. Two hundred and twenty-three participants (97.4%) stated that the youth could contract COVID-19, while 207(90.4%) participants knew that they could spread COVID-19 even if they had mild or no symptoms. Under preventive measures for COVID-19, 133 (58.1%) mentioned handwashing with soap and water, use of hand sanitizers, physical distancing, and wearing of face masks, while 96 (41.9%) in addition to correct preventive measures felt that the use of garlic and ginger, and drinking lots of water could mitigate its spread. On the assessment of impact among the youth, 118(51.5%) of the youth had negatively been affected by the pandemic, 60(26.2%) had been influenced both positively or negatively, 36(15.7%) had been affected positively, while 15(6.6%) participants had not been affected by the pandemic. Average monthly income had a significant association with ‘affectation’ by COVID-19 (p <0.001), Additionally, age group had a significant influence on how affected participants were by the pandemic (p = 0.024), whereas gender had no significant association with how affected participants were by the pandemic (p=0.589). Furthermore, 146(63.8%) participants were afraid of dying, 199 (86.9%) were afraid of losing loved ones, 115(50.2%) felt the world was coming to an end, 186 (81.2%) missed school, while 198 (86.5%) agreed that they missed their friends. One hundred and fifty-nine participants (69.4%) spent more time on social media, games, and the internet. Additionally, 77 (33.6%) had experienced hurt from someone online, while 26(11.4%) participants admitted to feeling unsafe at home. Thirty-five participants (15.3%) revealed that their parents argued more frequently than before, 10 (4.4%) stated that parents physically hurt each other, and 32 (14.0%) had experienced an inappropriate touch from someone at home.
Conclusions
The coronavirus pandemic has had a diverse impact on study participants. Youth health programs should mitigate the adverse effects of this pandemic on this vulnerable group.
Sources of Support
Self support