Table of Contents

ABSTRACT

The focus of this narrative review was the emotional distress experienced by adolescents as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 introduced new social isolation regulations and a state of uncertainty, which affected people in various ways. Adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 years were a vulnerable population due to their ongoing physical and social development. School closures contributed a great deal to students’ unusual feelings of fear, boredom, frustration and anxiety. A literature search was conducted using Google Scholar and PubMed databases to assess the impact of COVID-19 on social isolation and mental health of adolescents. After keywords were used to break down the topic, 122 articles were discovered from the years 2019 to 2021. Next, titles and abstracts were screened, duplicates were removed and eligibility criteria applied. Finally, the screening procedure produced 21 articles, which were analyzed for this review. The widely observed effects of the pandemic were categorized as anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), domestic violence, and worsening pre-existing mental health conditions. Many articles revealed a combination of the aforementioned outcomes experienced by adolescents who did not previously encounter them prior to the pandemic. COVID-19 social isolation negatively impacted adolescents worldwide, which made it essential to provide the support required for their healthier futures.

Keywords: COVID-19, pandemic, social isolation, quarantine, social distancing, lockdown, mental health, behavioral health, psychiatric illnesses, adolescents, school closures