Adolescent learners’ experiences, mental health, and coping strategies during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38140/ijspsy.v5i1.1572Keywords:
Adolescent learners, COVID-19 Pandemic, Mental Health, South AfricaAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic profoundly disrupted global education systems, with limited research focusing on its psychological and emotional impact among adolescent learners in low- and middle-income countries. Through in-person semi-structured interviews, this qualitative study explored the experiences, mental health impacts, and coping strategies of twenty were purposively selected adolescent learners (4 males and 19 females). Thematic analysis revealed three key themes: Weight of restrictions: Navigating the general impact, Academic and emotional strain: The dual burden of the pandemic and adapting to adversity. The findings illuminate the pandemic's multifaceted effects on adolescent learners’ social, economic, educational, and emotional wellbeing. While many adolescent learners experienced significant strain, others demonstrated resilience and employed adaptive emotion-focused coping strategies. These results emphasise the role of individual and contextual factors in shaping learners’ responses to crises. The study advocates multilevel mental health interventions that integrate economic, educational, and psychosocial dimensions. This study recommends that future research should further explore these dynamics across diverse populations and longitudinally to inform post-pandemic mental health and education policies.
References
Álvarez-Iglesias, A., Garman, E., & Lund, C. (2021). Effects of COVID-19 on the economy and mental health of young people in South Africa: opportunities for strengthening social protection programmes by integrating mental health. South African Journal of Psychology, 51(2), 199-204. https://doi.org/10.1177/00812463211015348
Alharahsheh, H. H., & Pius, A. (2020). A review of key paradigms: Positivism VS interpretivism. Global Academic Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2(3), 39-43. https://doi.org/10.36348/gajhss.2020.v02i03.001
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2021). Thematic analysis: A practical guide. SAGE Publications.
Chin, J., Di Maio, J., Weeraratne, T., Kennedy, K. M., Oliver, L. K., Bouchard, M., ... & McKerracher, L. (2023). Resilience in adolescence during the COVID-19 crisis in Canada. BMC Public Health, 23(1), 1097. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15813-6
Closson, K., Dong, E., Zulu, B., Dietrich, J. J., Zharima, C., Jesson, J., ... & Kaida, A. (2024). ‘Life became harder with COVID-19’: exploring the experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic among youth living in eThekwini district, South Africa. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 1922. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-19238-7
Coetzee, B., & Kagee, A. (2020). Structural barriers to adhering to health behaviours in the context of the COVID-19 crisis: Considerations for low- and middle-income countries. Global Public Health, 15(8), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2020.1779331
Compas, B. E., Jaser, S. S., Bettis, A. H., Watson, K. H., Gruhn, M. A., Dunbar, J. P., …. & Thigpen, J. C. (2017). Coping, emotion regulation, and psychopathology in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analysis and narrative review. Psychological Bulletin, 143(9), 939-991. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000110
Creswell, J. W., & Plano Clark, V. L. (2007). Designing and conducting mixed methods research. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Deng, J., Zhou, F., Hou, W., Heybati, K., Lohit, S., &Abbas, U. (2023). Prevalence of mental health symptoms in children and adolescents during the COVID?19 pandemic: A meta?analysis. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1520(1), 53-73. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14947
Department of Basic Education (DBE). (2022). The Impact of COVID-19 on Education in South Africa. Pretoria, South Africa: Department of Basic Education.
Dube, B. (2020). Rural online learning in the context of COVID 19 in South Africa: Evoking an inclusive education approach. REMIE: Multidisciplinary Journal of Educational Research, 10(2), 135-157. http://dx.doi.org/10.447/remie.2020.5607
Duby, Z., Bunce, B., Fowler, C., Bergh, K., Jonas, K., Dietrich, J. J., … & Mathews, C. (2022). Intersections between COVID-19 and socio-economic mental health stressors in the lives of South African adolescent girls and young women. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 16(1), 23-34. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-022-00457-y
Foli, J. P. M. (2022). The Black African female student fighting for survival: Gendered and cultural challenges of online learning. Agenda, 36(2), 55-62. https://doi.org/10.1080/10130950.2022.2059243
Garcia, M. M., Restubog, S. L. D., Toledano, L. S., Tolentino, L. R., & Rafferty, A. E. (2012). Differential moderating effects of student-and parent-rated support in the relationship between learning goal orientation and coping strategies among adolescents. Journal of Adolescence, 35(5), 1117-1123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2012.02.012
Govender, K., Cowden, R. G., Nyamaruze, P., Armstrong, R. M., & Hatane, L. (2020). Beyond the disease: Contextualized implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for children and young people living in Eastern and Southern Africa. Frontiers in Public Health, 8(504), 1-13, https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2020.00504
Guzman Holst, C., Bowes, L., Waite, P., Skripkauskaite, S., Shum, A., Pearcey, S., ….. & Creswell, C. (2023). Examining children and adolescent mental health trajectories during the COVID?19 pandemic: Findings from a year of the Co?SPACE study. JCPP Advances, 3(2), e12153. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcv2.12153
Haag, K., Du Toit, S., Skeen, S., Steventon Roberts, K., Chideya, Y., Notholi, V., …. & Tomlinson, M. (2022). Predictors of COVID-related changes in mental health in a South African sample of adolescents and young adults. Psychology, Health & Medicine, 27(sup1), 239-255. https://doi.org/10.1080/13548506.2022.2108087
Haelermans, C., Korthals, R., Jacobs, M., de Leeuw, S., Vermeulen, S., van Vugt, L., Aarts, B., Prokic-Breuer, T., van der Velden, R., van Wetten, S., & de Wolf, I. (2022). Sharp increase in inequality in education in times of the COVID-19-pandemic. Plos One, 17(2), e0261114. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0261114
Hankin, B. L., Young, J. F., & Hankin, B. L. (2016). Anxiety and depression: The role of stress and negative life events in the development of anxiety and depression in youth. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44(5), 919-933. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-015-0081-3
Hanushek, E. A., & Woessmann, L. (2022). The economic impacts of learning losses. Education Economics, 30(1), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1787/19939019
Hassler, M., & Möller, J. (2020). Financial hardship and mental health: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Mental Health, 29(3), 285-294. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2020.1729556
Hoosen, P., Adams, S., Tiliouine, H., & Savahl, S. (2022). Youth and adolescents’ perceptions of violence in post-apartheid South Africa: A systematic review of the literature. Child Indicators Research, 15(3), 885-911. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12187-021-09890-5
Jansen, J. (2020, July 13). Jonathan Jansen on the emotional impacts of the pandemic and lockdown on South African children. TimesLIVE. https://www.timeslive.co.za/sunday-times/books/news/2020-07-13-jonathan-jansen-on-the-emotional-impacts-of-the-pandemic-and-lockdown-on-south-african-children/
Jones, E. A., Mitra, A. K., & Bhuiyan, A. R. (2021). Impact of COVID-19 on mental health in adolescents: A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 1-9. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052470
Kitzrow, M. A. (2003). The Impact of Student Mental Health on Academic Success. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 18(1), 77-88. https://doi.org/10.1300/J035v18n01_08
Layton, K., & Jacobs, I. (2024). Adolescents' lived experiences of COVID-19. ?????? ?? ????????? ????????/Journal of Social Policy, 20(1), 25-58. https://doi.org/10.37509/socpol24201025l
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York, NY. Springer.
Loades, M. E., Chatburn, E., Higson-Sweeney, N., Reynolds, S., Shafran, R., Brigden, A., Linney, C., McManus, M. N., Borwick, C., & Crawley, E. (2020). Rapid systematic review: The impact of social isolation and loneliness on the mental health of children and adolescents in the context of COVID-19. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 59(11), 1218-1239.e3. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2020.05.009
Magson, N. R., Freeman, J. Y. A., Rapee, R. M., Richardson, C. E., Oar, E. L., & Fardouly, J. (2021). Risk and protective factors for prospective changes in adolescent mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50(1), 44-57. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-020-01332-9
Masten, A. S., & Motti-Stefanidi, F. (2020). Multisystem resilience for children and youth in disaster: Reflections in the context of COVID-19. Adversity and Resilience Science, 1(2), 95-106. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-020-00010-w
Mofokeng, P. S. (2023). Effects of COVID-19 on learners’ wellbeing in a rural high school district. International Journal of Studies in Psychology, 3(2), 11-17. https://hdl.handle.net/10520/ejc-ijspsy_v3_n2_a4
Mukoma, G., Bosire, E. N., Hardy-Johnson, P., Barker, M., & Norris, S. A. (2023). ‘We were not allowed to gather even for Christmas.’ Impact of COVID-19 on South African young people: Exploring messaging and support. Global Public Health, 18(1), 2264968. https://doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2023.2264968
Munir, F. (2021). Mitigating COVID: Impact of COVID-19 lockdown and school closure on children’s well-being. Social Sciences, 10(10), 387. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10100387
Nett, U. E., Goetz, T., & Hall, N. C. (2011). Boredom and academic achievement: The role of motivation. Learning and Individual Differences, 21(5), 626-630. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2011.08.001
Patton, G. C., Sawyer, S. M., Santelli, J. S., Ross, D. A., Afifi, R., Allen, N. …. (2016). Our future: A Lancet commission on adolescent health and wellbeing. The Lancet, 387(10036), 2423-2478. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(16)00579-1
Racine, N., McArthur, B. A., Cooke, J. E., Eirich, R., Zhu, J., & Madigan, S. (2021). Global prevalence of depressive and anxiety symptoms in children and adolescents during COVID-19: A meta-analysis. JAMA Paediatrics, 175(11), 1142-1150. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapediatrics.2021.2482
Smith, J. A. (2015). Qualitative Psychology: A Practical Guide to Research Methods. London: Sage.
Smith, J. A., & Nizza, I. E. (2022). Essentials of interpretative phenomenological analysis. Washington, DC. American Psychological Association.
Sorsdahl, K., Petersen, I., Myers, B., Zingela, Z., Lund, C., & van der Westhuizen, C. (2023). A reflection of the current status of the mental healthcare system in South Africa. SSM-Mental Health, 4, 100247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2023.100247
Tamres, L. K., Janicki, D., & Helgeson, V. S. (2002). Sex differences in coping behavior: A meta-analytic review and an examination of relative coping. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 6(1), 2-30. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327957PSPR0601_1
Verity, L., Barreto, M., Jefferson, R., Fit to Belong Erasmus+ Project Team, & Qualter, P. (2023). Fit to belong: Loneliness from the perspectives of adolescents from five European countries. Frontiers in Education, 8, 1220279. https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2023.1220279
Zolopa, C., Burack, J. A., O’Connor, R. M., Corran, C., Lai, J., Bomfim, E., Degrace, S., Dumont, J., Larney, S., & Wendt, D. C. (2022). Changes in youth mental health, psychological wellbeing, and substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic: A rapid review. Adolescent Research Review, 7(2), 161-177. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40894-022-00185-6
World Bank, UNESCO, & UNICEF. (2021). The state of the global education crisis: A path to recovery. World Bank Group. https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/education/publication/the-state-of-the-global-education-crisis-a-path-to-recovery
Zhou, S. J., Zhang, L. G., Wang, L. L., Guo, Z.C., Wang, J. Q., Chen, J. C., Liu, M., Chen, X., & Chen, J. X. (2020). Prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of psychological health problems in Chinese adolescents during the outbreak of COVID-19. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 29(6), 749-758. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-020-01541-
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
Copyright (c) 2025 Phillipa Haine, Bronwyne Coetzee, Marnus Janse Van Vuuren, Ashraf Kagee
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
All articles published by GAERPSY Publishing are under an Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license, allowing author (s) to share copies and redistribute the material in any medium or format. The GAERPSY Publishing cannot revoke these freedoms if they follow the license terms:
• Attribution: Author (s) must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made. Author (s) may do so reasonably but not in any way that suggests the licensor endorses his/her or thier use.
• NonCommercial: Author (s) may not use the material for commercial purposes.
• NoDerivatives: If author (s) remixes, transforms, or builds upon the material, he/she (they) may not distribute the modified material.
• No additional restrictions: Author (s) may not apply legal terms or technological measures that legally restrict others from doing anything the license permits.
