The Family as a Protective Factor for Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Theoretical background: From spring 2020 to the present day, the COVID-19 pandemic led to widespread limitations in daily life, including school closures, as well as to negative effects on the mental health of adolescents in the German-speaking countries. Objective: This study examined the associations between family support. psychological distress, and concern for others' health as aspects of solidarity among adolescents in Austria and Switzerland. We expected positive associations between family support and adolescents' reported concern for others' health and negative associations between family support and psychological distress. We further explored whether the two national samples differed in these aspects. Method: Adolescents (N = 458) aged 14 to 18 years from Austria (n = 158) and Switzerland (n = 300) completed an online survey in April and May 2020 on the three constructs "Concern for other's health," "Psychological distress," and "Family support." We conducted the statistical analyses using structural equation modeling. Results: We found measurement invariance between the two samples regarding all assessed constructs. As hypothesized, in both countries family support was positively related to concern for others' health and negatively related to psychological distress. Swiss adolescents reported higher concern for others' health and tower psychological distress than the Austrian sample. Discussion and Conclusion: The results feed into the theory of family resilience, suggesting that family support plays a crucial role in adolescents' well-being during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic. Family support may also be related to adolescents' solidarity. However, the variance explained in our study was small indicating that other protective factors should be considered as well.