Emotional Impact in Adolescents in Ecuador Six Months after the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the emotional health of adolescents, especially those with low resilience and life satisfaction. The aim is to analyze the predictors of anxiety, depression, and stress among adolescents in Ecuador during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants were 586 adolescents from Ecuador aged between 12-18 years (M = 15.30; SD = 1.28). Satisfaction, resilience, anxiety, depression, stress and worries about COVID-19 were assessed. Structural equation models (SEM) and models based on qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) were performed. The results indicate that worries are associated with depression, anxiety, and stress. However, higher physical health worries are associated with lower emotional distress. SEM models indicate that life satisfaction is negatively associated with emotional distress. In QCA models, emotional distress is explained by high worries, low resilience, and life satisfaction. Life satisfaction plays a mediating role in emotional distress. In conclusion, adolescents are one of the groups particularly vulnerable to this situation of restriction created by COVID-19. It is necessary to detect signs of risk and protection in emotional adjustment, especially life satisfaction, that appears like principal damper variable.