Protection Factors on Adolescent Mental Health Condition due to Pandemic COVID-19

This pandemic has brought some impacts such as physical, psychological, social, and economic (Poudel & Subedi, 2020). Until now, all parties say that they have not found a way to overcome it because of the extreme situation that has never happened before. Empirical studies on the impact of the health crisis on physical, and mental health have become a priority to solve these arising problems (Schimmenti et al., 2020). Lockdown can affect the mental health of adolescents. The impact of lockdown or activity restriction can cause psychological stress on adolescents (Chen et al., 2020). Teens are supposed to be cut off from peers and school as everyone worries about illness and about their future which are beyond their control (Singh et al., 2020) Therefore this paper tries to contribute to overcoming these problems, especially in the adolescent age group. Basically, teenagers have creative potential, resilience, and resourceful, especially if they have supportive adults in their lives. Parents or adults around them need to talk with teenagers about their experiences during the Covid 19 pandemic and talk about any support they might need. Parents can help teenagers create a structure or activity plan during the Covid 19 pandemic. Although this plan may not be desirable at this time, it is something that is needed. Basically, teenagers need help to create and develop their strength and ability. Parents can help adolescents to build relationships with mental health resources either through school or in the community. They can set an example by finding healthy coping skills, such as meditation, peer support, counseling, and exercise.


INTRODUCTION
The first COVID-19 outbreak began in December 2019 in Wuhan, China (Burki, 2020) and is spreading nonstop throughout the world (World Health Organization, 2020). According to data from worldometers.info up to now there have been 172,917,234 cases of Covid-19 worldwide; 155,645,850 of whom have recovered, while the rest of 3,717,518 died. This pandemic has brought some impacts such as physical, psychological, social, and economic (Poudel & Subedi, 2020). Until now, all parties say that they have not found a way to overcome it because of the extreme situation that has never happened before. Empirical studies on the impact of the health crisis on physical, and mental health have become a priority to solve these arising problems (Schimmenti et al., 2020). Therefore, this paper tries to contribute to overcoming these problems, especially in the adolescent age group.
The conditions of the Covid 19 pandemic are also experienced by all teenagers in whole parts of the world (World Health Organization, 2021). Adolescents who are experiencing a transition period from childhood to adulthood are a vulnerable group. Adolescence is a period in the life of youth, forging who he is and building plans (WHO, 2018). This period can be said as a risky period. There are about 20% of teens experiencing some mental health problems in normal times (before Covid-19 Pandemi) (Pearson, 2009). In this Pandemic Times, the development process of adolescents has become more vulnerable because they should restrict outside activities and should only stay at home as well as some provisions for lockdown in several countries (Octavius et al., 2020). The impact of this pandemic has caused almost all people in any region to limit their daily activities, especially meeting others directly. They replace those activities with online ones. Lockdown can affect the mental health of adolescents. The impact of lockdown or activity restriction can cause psychological stress on adolescents . Teens are supposed to cut off from peers and school as everyone worries about illness and about their future which are beyond their control (Singh et al., 2020).
The COVID-19 pandemic forced them to make activities outside to be at home. This condition surely creates many consequences on the lives of teenagers (Abidah et al., 2020). Adolescents may experience chronic and acute stress, worry about their families. They are never ready for unexpected deaths, sudden school breaks, and confinement at home in some countries. In addition, they are worrying about the economic future, their family and country (Marques de Miranda et al., 2020). They also experience increased access time to the internet and social media (Hamilton et al., 2020). Adolescent's experience disturbed social relationships, due to the policy to stay at home (Rogers et al., 2021). Wearing a mask to avoid more outbreaks during outside activities is becoming increasingly common in several countries. In fact, they are not the ones who used to wearing masks because they cannot see each other's facial expressions (Spitzer, 2020).
The COVID-19 pandemic will affect the mental health of youth in the long term. There is already evidence of the dual and negative psychological impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on quarantined adolescents (social isolation stressors) (Loades et al., 2020). The Covid 19 pandemic can make teenagers more susceptible to experiencing long-term psychiatric disorders. Based on the study on some respondents, 27% reported their anxious feeling and 15% depressed in the past seven days. 30% of respondents said the main reason that affects their emotions at this time is the economic situation. The general situation in the country and its regions has affected the daily life of young people as 46% reported a lack of motivation to undertake activities they normally enjoy. There are 36% of adolescents feel less motivated to do ordinary household chores. A deep concern rises since 73% of teenagers feel they need help related to their physical and mental health. However, 40% of respondents said they did not ask for help (Unicef, 2020).
Therefore, adolescents may need additional support in terms of regulation, including sleep patterns, use of time, and use of technology. Due to the pandemic, students are losing their regular school time structure. Unfortunately, if this is compounded by the lack of parental support so students have to navigate themselves. This results in strange sleep patterns and overall dysregulation, which can affect schoolwork, family relationships, and mental health. The description above illustrates the need for a protection factor in this situation . The protection factor, namely the overall event, condition, and characteristics of the child, family, and wider environment, increases the individual's chances of healthy development and positive living outcomes despite exposure to significant adversity.
Based on the data of the Indonesian Internet User Penetration and Behavior Survey 2017 from 10-25 yearsold, there were 82.1% of the 171.17 million Indonesian population accessed the internet. This data shows that there are 141 million aged 10-25 years adolescents or the largest population who accessed the internet. Moreover, there are 55.9% of internet users are exposed to pornographic content (Indonesian Internet Service Providers Association, 2017). The Indonesian Child Protection Commission (KPAI) conveyed the results of a study in 2014 with 400 adolescents aged 10-19 years shows that half of these teenagers first learned about the internet through their peers and many teenagers have seen pornography through advertisements. KPAI data also shows that almost 90% of children are exposed to pornography starting at the age of 11 (KPAI, 2014).
Pornographic shows have an impact on changes in attitudes or behavior because they will store the shows in the memory and tend to increase the need to consume them, as the result, they become more addicted. Pornography addiction is related to the process of the adolescent sexual script which is formed in their thoughts, feelings, and motivations. This is because adolescents receive information through pornographic content that emphasizes physical appearance and the ways to master sexual intercourse techniques (Mattebo, 2014). Information or messages obtained from broadcasts on pornography convey the idea that young girls should look sexy; having a perfect body sexually depicted through a model who is young, slim, and beautiful (Mattebo et al., 2012). Pornographic content should be with the man that must be sexually dominant and make women's bodies as his objects (Mikorski & Szymanski, 2017).
According to Bartlett & Vivrette, (2020) there are several forms of protection factors in the condition of adolescents during and after the pandemic, namely when the needs of parents and other caregivers are met, children are more likely to receive responsive care and sensitivity. Protecting the mental and physical health of adults is an effective strategy for promoting youth well-being during and after a pandemic. Parents and other caregivers prioritize their time and energy for activities that are most important and meaningful to the caregiver and their family (for example, fun activities with family at home, celebrating birthdays and other important milestones, connecting with friends). Teens are also supposed to focus on the things that should be achieved in a sustainable and reasonable way in this situation. Taking breaks from work and caring responsibilities: Even self-care (for example rest, exercise, attention, reading, prayer) which can be done in their spare time can benefit the whole family. Keeping in touch with family members, friends, religious groups, and professionals can offer support for managing emotional and mental health challenges, such as stress, anxiety, and depression.
Policies and interventions undertaken for adolescents will benefit adolescents in maintaining daily structures and daily routines. Opportunities are given to adolescents to get social appreciation and a sense of belonging.
Interventions that provide access for adolescents to obtain resources for social support (Qi et al., 2020). A sense of belonging is a significant psychological resource, especially in times of stress (Wilczynska et al., 2015), and feelings of social connection during a pandemic are associated with lower anxiety, depression, and higher life satisfaction during a pandemic (Arslan, 2020). Therefore, programs designed for youth centers and services focus on developing, promoting, and fostering access to online or alternative forms of intervention to promote a sense of belonging and social connectedness in isolated youth. Social support is a significant protective factor for mental health among adolescents. The more social support a teenager receives, the better his mental status will be. Social support from family members or friends by sharing empathy will reduce anxiety and depression levels in adolescents. Social support is given by family members, friends, and the loved ones. Previous research has shown that sources of support vary across life periods and parental support has been the most important during adolescent times (Zysberg & Zisberg, 2020).
Basically, teenagers have creative potential, resilience, and resourcefull, especially if they have supportive adults in their lives. Parents or adults around them need to talk with teenagers about their experiences during the Covid 19 pandemic and talk about any support they might need. Parents can help teenagers create a structure or activity plan during the Covid 19 pandemic. Although this plan may not be desirable at this time, it is something that is needed. Basically, teenagers actually need help to create and develop their strength and ability. Parents can help adolescents to build relationships with mental health resources either through school or in the community. They can set an example by finding healthy coping skills, such as meditation, peer support, counseling, and exercise.