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Mental health, suicide risk and the important role of self-esteem in Adolescents before and during coexistence with COVID-19 in Ecuador

Abstract:

Introduction/Objectives: COVID-19 has had a significant emotional impact on peo-ple’s lives, especially adolescents. Therefore, the aim was to assess the predictors of suicide risk during the COVID-19 pandemic in adolescents in Ecuador by means of a longitudinal study. Method: The application of a longitudinal design with two measures: before the start of the pandemic and one year afterwards. The sample consisted of 137 adolescents between 12-18 years of age. The variables analysed were mental health, the risk of suicide and self-es-teem. Statistical analyses were performed using mean comparison, correlations, QCA models and mediation models. Results: The results indicated higher levels of anxiety and stress after one year of the pandemic. In addition, a higher risk of suicide following the pandemic was observed in those adolescents with higher scores in emotional symptomatology and low self-esteem. QCA models and mediation models highlighted the importance of self-esteem as a protective variable between pre-COVID-19 suicide risk and emotional symptomatology and post-COVID-19 suicide risk. Conclusions: This study highlights adolescents’ level of vul-nerability to the pandemic and its significant psychological impact. It is important to detect which factors function as risks and which as protection against COVID-19 in order to implement intervention programmes that target these aspects and ensure better adolescent well-being.