Purpose: This study examines the indirect effect of affect dysregulation and suppression on the associations between family stress from confinement, maltreatment, and adolescent mental health during COVID-19. We examined both adolescent and caregiver perspectives to yield a more well-rounded understanding of these associations. Methods: Using both adolescent (N = 809, Mage = 15.66) and caregiver (N = 578) samples, exposure to physical and psychological maltreatment, family stress from confinement, affect dysregulation, suppression, and youth externalizing and internalizing symptoms were measured in the summer of 2020, following three months of stay at home orders due to COVID-19. Results: We found that affect dysregulation partially accounted for the associations between family stress and psychological maltreatment on both internalizing and externalizing symptoms for youth and parent report. Suppression partially accounted for the associations between family stress and maltreatment on internalizing and externalizing symptoms in the youth sample, but only for internalizing symptoms in the caregiver sample. Conclusion: Understanding the family predictors of adolescents’ mental health concerns, and their underlying mechanisms, affect dysregulation and suppression, can help us target mental health interventions during and following the COVID-19 pandemic.
Roles of Family Stress, Maltreatment, and Affect Regulation Difficulties on Adolescent Mental Health During COVID-19
