Study was conducted by Unicamp, Federal University of Minas Gerais and Fiocruz and involved the participation of more than 9 thousand volunteers
Unicamp, the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation and the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG) have just released the research data Invite Teenagers - Behavior Research carried out in partnership by the three institutions. Changes in routine activities, lifestyles, relationships with family and friends, school activities, health care, and mood of 9.470 adolescents aged 12 to 17 years in Brazil resulting from the pandemic were investigated. of Covid-19. The research took place from June 27th to September 17th, 2020.
The percentage of adolescents who were diagnosed with Covid-19 was 3,9%. In the comparison by sex, the percentage for males was 4,3% and for females 3,6%. When comparing by age group, the percentage of adolescents diagnosed with Covid-19 was 4,9% among those aged 16 to 17 and 3,5% among those aged 12 to 15. Differences by region were also found. The percentage of Covid-19 diagnosis ranged from 2,1% in the South Region to 6,1% in the North Region.
The vast majority of adolescents (71,5%) adhered to social restriction measures, with 25,9% in total restriction and 45,6% in intense restriction, only going out to supermarkets, pharmacies or family homes. Considering the intense restriction and the total restriction of contacts with other people, the highest proportion occurred in the South Region, 74,1%, while the lowest percentage occurred in the North (66,1%). Differences were found by age group. While younger people adhered to a greater proportion of total social restrictions (27,0%), older people showed a greater proportion of adherence to intense social restrictions (50,7%).
In the total sample, 30% thought that their health worsened during the pandemic. Differences were found by sex and age group, with girls reporting a higher proportion of worsening health status (33,8%) than boys (25,8%), and older adolescents (37,0%) than the youngest (26,4%).
State of mind
“The percentage of adolescents who reported worsening sleep quality during the pandemic was 36,0%, with 23,9% starting to have problems with sleep and 12,1% reporting that they had problems and they worsened. The quality of sleep was more affected among girls, and in adolescents aged 16 to 17, compared to younger ones”, comments the researcher from the Faculty of Medical Sciences at Unicamp, Margareth Guimarães Lima.
The report of feeling isolated from friends was observed in 32,8% of adolescents; 22,4% reported feeling isolated most of the time and 10,4% always had this feeling during the period. Feeling isolated was more common among girls compared to boys, and among older adolescents compared to younger ones.
According to the survey, a large proportion of adolescents who felt sad most of the time or always were found (31,6%). The report of sadness most often occurred in 22,4% of adolescents and 9,2% always felt sad during the pandemic. The percentage of feelings of sadness was twice as high in girls. Among them, 27,7% always felt sad. The report of feeling sad most of the time or always was higher among older adolescents (38,3%) than among younger ones (29,6%).
“Feeling worried, nervous or moody was reported by 48,7% of adolescents, most of the time or always. Among girls, the percentage was 61,6%. Adolescents aged 16 to 17 reported this feeling more frequently (55,3%) than those aged 12 to 15 (45,5%). Around a fifth of teenagers (19,3%) always felt worried, nervous, or in a bad mood, 27,7% of girls and 10,8% of boys”, points out Margareth.
Food and physical activity
The consumption of unhealthy foods on two or more days a week increased during the pandemic: 4% for frozen meals and 4% for chocolates and sweets. The greater consumption of sweets and chocolates among girls stands out. During the pandemic, 58,1% of adolescents consumed sweets on 2 days or more per week. The consumption pattern of healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, was similar before and during the pandemic.
“It is noteworthy that more than 40% did not practice physical activity for 60 minutes on any day of the week during the pandemic. The percentage of young people who did not do 60 minutes of physical activity on any day of the week before the pandemic was 20,9% and now stands at 43,4%. Practicing 60 minutes of physical activity on five or more days a week decreased by around 13 percentage points, from 28,7 to 15,7%”, warns the Unicamp researcher.
During the pandemic, more than 60% of teenagers reported spending more than 4 hours in front of computer, tablet or cell phone screens. Among teenagers aged 16-17, the percentage reaches 70%. Sedentary time increased by about two hours during the pandemic. The time that teenagers used to sit and watch television or play video games increased from 3 hours and 20 minutes before the pandemic to 5 hours and 3 minutes during the pandemic.
Distance learning
Many difficulties in following distance learning classes were cited by teenagers: 59% reported lack of concentration, 38,3% lack of interaction with teachers, 31,3% lack of interaction with friends. Girls reported greater difficulty in following classes, mainly in relation to lack of concentration and lack of interaction with teachers. While 10,7% of boys had no difficulty, the percentage was 6,9% among girls. Among teenagers aged 16-17, 65,5% cited lack of concentration as a difficulty in following distance classes.
Regarding understanding the content of distance learning classes, 47,8% of adolescents reported that they understood little (51,3% of girls and 44,1% of boys), and 15,8% said that they did not understand anything ( 17,4% of girls and 14,1% of boys). Older people have more difficulty understanding the content of distance classes. Only 1 in 4 teenagers aged 16-17 reported understanding everything or almost everything in face-to-face classes.
Invite Teenagers - Behavior Research
The research was carried out using a questionnaire self-completed by the teenager using a cell phone or computer with internet access, after authorization from the guardian. All responses were anonymous and without any other type of identification of the participants. Participants were invited through a chain sampling procedure. In the first stage, the study researchers chose parents of teenagers from different Brazilian states to start the process.
After filling out the questionnaire, the teenagers invited other young people via social media, forming the recruitment chain. Additionally, the research coordination team contacted public and private schools, and state and municipal education departments, via institutional email. The institutions that participated in the research sent electronic questionnaires to students.
original article published on the website of the Faculty of Medical Sciences (FCM)
