Skip to main content
Search
Search
    Quick Search anywhere
    Quick search in Citations
Advanced Search
Skip main navigationClose Drawer MenuOpen Drawer Menu
Previous article
Next article
Article

Developing in a Dynamic World

Harnessing Psychology to Support the COVID-19 Generation

Published Online:May 09, 2022https://doi.org/10.1027/2157-3891/a000038

Abstract

Abstract. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and other social dynamics created a myriad of challenges and changes for individuals, groups, and societies. The impacts on youth are particularly noteworthy given developmental processes of adolescence and emerging adulthood. As psychologists, we have much to offer in studying how 2020 influenced their development and in shaping effective supports. To be useful, the work must be nuanced, iterative, and attentive to their lived realities. We argue for a dynamic research framework to study these developmental processes. Through such an approach, psychological science can provide insight into diverse young people’s experiences of COVID-19 with a focus on addressing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 3, 4, and 16 on increasing a sense of well-being, making education more equitable, and developing more peaceful societies. This paper lays out three theoretical frameworks – Synthetic, Augmentative, Generative, and Experiential, Meanings, Observations, Viewpoints, and Experiences, and the Developmental Peacebuilding Model – that can be used to capture the dynamism of meaning-making and development within changing contexts. We then provide examples from our research with young people in the United States and Ireland. This paper ends with a call for psychologists across the globe to understand and address COVID-19’s impacts on youth through iterative and integrative research methods with a focus on meaning-making. In coordination with macro-level metrics, such work can help understand lived psychosocial impacts on diverse groups of young people, while highlighting opportunities to support SDGs 3, 4, and 16.

Impact and Implications.

Building peaceful, inclusive societies with equitable educational opportunities requires attention to how young people process, make sense, respond to, and shape what is going on around them. The events of 2020 – the pandemic, racial injustice, and financial and health crises – have impacted the lives of youth during a critical time in their development that will influence how they engage with their communities, as well as their well-being, educational trajectories, and orientations toward peace. In this paper, we describe how dynamic and iterative research on interpretation and meaning can provide insights into how young people are experiencing and responding to these events, with implications for advancing the Sustainable Development Goals.

References

  • Araújo, L. A. D., Veloso, C. F., Souza, M. D. C., Azevedo, J. M. C. D., & Tarro, G. (2021). The potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child growth and development: A systematic review. Jornal de Pediatria, 97(4), 369–377. 10.1016/j.jped.2020.08.008 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Arnett, J. J. (2014). Adolescence and emerging adulthood. Pearson. First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Burke, T., Berry, A., Taylor, L. K., Stafford, O., Murphy, E., Shevlin, M., McHugh, L., & Carr, A. (2020). Increased psychological distress during COVID-19 and quarantine in Ireland: A national survey. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(11), Article 3481. 10.3390/jcm9113481 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Carlo, G., & Randall, B. A. (2002). The development of a measure of prosocial behaviors for late adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31(1), 31–44. 10.1023/A:1014033032440 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • de Moor, E. L., Cheng, T., Spitzer, J. E., Berger, C., Carrizales, A., Garandeau, C. F., Hawk, S. T., Kaniušonyté, G., Kumru, A., Malonda, E., Rovella, A., Shen, Y., Taylor, L. K., van Zalk, M., Branje, S., Carlo, G., Padilla Walker, L., & Van der Graaf, J. (2022). What should I do and who's to blame? A cross-national study on youth's attitudes and beliefs in times of COVID-19 [Manuscript submitted for publication]. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Elder, G. H. (1974). Children of the great depression: Social change in the life experience. University of Chicago Press. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., Koss, M. P., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The adverse childhood experiences (ACE) study. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 14(4), 245–258. 10.1016/s0749-3797(98)00017-8 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Gloster, A. T., Lamnisos, D., Lubenko, J., Presti, G., Squatrito, V., Constantinou, M., Nicolaou, C., Papacostas, S., Aydın, G., Chong, Y. Y., Chien, W. T., Cheng, H. Y., Ruiz, F. J., Garcia-Martin, M. B., Obando-Posada, D. P., Segura-Vargas, M. A., Vasiliou, V. S., McHugh, L., Höfer, S., & Karekla, M. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health: An international study. PLoS One, 15(12), Article e0244809. 10.1371/journal.pone.0244809 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Grob, A., Krings, F., & Bangerter, A. (2001). Life markers in biographical narratives of people from three cohorts: A life span perspective in its historical context. Human Development, 44(4), 171–190. 10.1159/000057057 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Gubrium, A., & Gubrium, E. (2021). Narrative complexity in the time of COVID-19. The Lancet, 397(10291), 2244–2245. 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)01287-3 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Nemanich, S., Pleva, A., & Millard, A. E. (2021). A retrospective survey of physical and emotional well-being of children and adolescents during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Manuscript submitted for publication. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • O’Sullivan, K., Clark, S., McGrane, A., Rock, N., Burke, L., Boyle, N., Joksimovic, N., & Marshall, K. (2021). A qualitative study of child and adolescent mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ireland. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(3), Article 1062. 10.3390/ijerph18031062 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Padilla-Walker, L., van der Graaff, J., Workman, K., Carlo, G., Branje, S., Carrizales, A., Gerbino, M., Gulseven, Z., Hawk, S., Luengo Kanacri, P., Mesurado, B., Samper, P., Shen, Y., Taylor, L. K., Trach, J., van Zalk, M., & Zukauskiene, R. (in press). Emerging adults' cultural values, prosocial behaviors, and mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic: A multi-national study. International Journal of Behavioral Development. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Power, S. A., & Velez, G. (2020). The MOVE framework: Meanings, observations, viewpoints, and experiences in processes of social change. Review of General Psychology, 24(4), 321–334. 10.1177/1089268020915841 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Power, S. A., Velez, G., Qadafi, A., & Tennant, J. (2018). The SAGE model of social psychological research. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 13(3), 359–372. 10.1177/1745691617734863 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Rubiano, A., M. P. (2021). Amid violence and protests, Colombian universities seek to promote a national dialogue. AAAS Science. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/05/amid-violence-and-protests-colombian-universities-seek-promote-national-dialogue First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Singh, S., Roy, D., Sinha, K., Parveen, S., Sharma, G., & Joshi, G. (2020). Impact of COVID-19 and lockdown on mental health of children and adolescents: A narrative review with recommendations. Psychiatry Research, 293, Article 113429. 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.113429 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Spencer, M. B. (2006). Phenomenology and ecological systems theory: Development of diverse groups. In R. LernerW. Damon (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology (pp. 829–893). Wiley. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Stafford, O., Berry, A., Taylor, L. K., Wearen, S., Murphy, E., Shevlin, M., McHugh, L., Carr, A., & Burke, T. (in press). Comorbidity and COVID-19: Investigating the relationship between medical and psychological well-being. Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Taylor, L. K. (2020). The developmental peacebuilding model (DPM) of children's prosocial behaviors in settings of intergroup conflict. Child Development Perspectives, 14(3), 127–134. 10.1111/cdep.12377 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Taylor, L. K., Merrilees, C. E., Baird, R., Goeke-Morey, M. C., Shirlow, P., & Cummings, E. M. (2018). Impact of political conflict on trajectories of adolescent prosocial behavior: Implications for civic engagement. Developmental Psychology, 54(9), 1785–1794. 10.1037/dev0000552 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Taylor, L. K., Townsend, D., Merrilees, C. E., Goeke-Morey, M. C., Shirlow, P., & Cummings, E. M. (2019). Adolescent civic engagement and perceived political conflict: The role of family cohesion. Youth & Society, 51(5), 616–637. 10.1177/0044118X17697236 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Townsend, D., Taylor, L. K., Merrilees, C. E., Furey, A., Goeke‐Morey, M. C., Shirlow, P., & Mark Cummings, E. (2020). Youth in Northern Ireland: Linking violence exposure, emotional insecurity, and the political macrosystem. SRCD Monographs, 85(4), 7–123. 10.1111/mono.12423 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • UNICEF. (2020). COVID-19 and children. UNICEF Data Hub. https://data.unicef.org/covid-19-and-children/ First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Velez, G., Troyer, B., & Hahn, M. (in press). Making meaning of COVID-19: US adolescent experiences and development amid the pandemic. Translational Issues in Psychological Science. First citation in articleGoogle Scholar

  • Wessells, M. G. (2016). Children and armed conflict: Introduction and overview. Peace and Conflict: Journal of Peace Psychology, 22(3), 198–207. 10.1037/pac0000176 First citation in articleCrossref, Google Scholar

  • Whiting, K. (2020, September 1). This is how COVID-19 is affecting the world's children. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/09/charts-covid19-malnutrition-educaion-mental-health-children-world/ First citation in articleGoogle Scholar