Maturation-dependent vulnerability of emotion regulation as a response to COVID-19 related stress in adolescents

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic created highly unpredictable circumstances which resulted in increased levels of psychological strain. Here we investigate pandemic-related alterations in emotion regulation in adolescents assessed before and during the pandemic. We also take biological age into account in the response to the pandemic.Methods: We compared baseline data on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) total scores of a pre-pandemic adolescent cohort (n=241) with those obtained during the second wave of the pandemic (n=266). We estimated biological age based on an ultrasonic boneage assessment procedure in a subgroup of males. We included both grammar school and vocational school students in the 9th and 10th grades and analyzed their data independently.Findings: There is a gender difference in the timing of vulnerability for pandemic-related stress in grammar school students: females are affected a year earlier than males. Vocational school male students mature faster than grammar school male students, and the timing of emotional vulnerability also precedes that of the grammar school students.Discussion: We interpret our findings in a developmental model suggesting that there might be a window of highest vulnerability in adolescent emotion regulation. The timing of the window is determined by both chronological and biological age, and it seems to be different for females and males.Application to Practice: Defining the exact temporal windows of vulnerability for different adolescent cohorts allows for the timely integration of preventive actions into adolescent care to protect mental health during future chronic stressful situations.