Interpersonal Stressors and Adolescent Mental Health During COVID-19: Investigating the Role of Loneliness

Interpersonal Stressors and Adolescent Mental Health During COVID-19: Investigating the Role of Loneliness | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Interpersonal Stressors and Adolescent Mental Health During COVID-19: Investigating the Role of Loneliness Atina Manvelian, Erica Szkody, Katherine A. Cohen, Jessica L. Schleider This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9544734/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 7 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic created social disruptions, leading to high levels of mental health problems for adolescents. Interpersonal stressors, such as lack of familial support, peer victimization, and discrimination, may have further exacerbated teen mental health issues. Yet, the psychological impact of interpersonal stressors and their interactive effects with high levels of loneliness remains unknown. In this pre-registered study, we used a diverse, nationwide sample of adolescents with elevated symptoms of depression ( n = 2,452, ages 13–16) to examine how familial support, peer victimization, and discrimination are concurrently associated with mental health outcomes. For teens with elevated depressive symptomology during the COVID-19 pandemic, lack of familial support, peer victimization, and discrimination were all significantly associated with depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. A significant moderation was also found with loneliness, such that for youth reporting high levels of loneliness, depression and anxiety symptoms remained high even despite familial support. Furthermore, for youth reporting high levels of loneliness, hopelessness remained high, regardless of their perceptions of peer victimization or daily discrimination. Interpersonal stressors, such as lack of familial support, had a large impact on youth mental health problems during COVID-19. However, despite interpersonal protective factors, high levels of loneliness were associated with depression, anxiety, and hopelessness, suggesting that loneliness should be a high-priority intervention target for youth, particularly during times of national disaster and disconnection. Adolescents Loneliness Family Support Discrimination Peer Victimization Full Text Additional Declarations Competing interest reported. J.L.S. serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for Walden Wise and the Clinical Advisory Board for Koko and receives book royalties from New Harbinger; Oxford University Press; and Little, Brown Book Group. She is co-founder and chief scientific advisor for Navi. No Navi products were used or are referenced in the present manuscript. The authors report no other financial conflicts or competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviewers agreed at journal 18 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 May, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 May, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 03 May, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 03 May, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 29 Apr, 2026 First submitted to journal 27 Apr, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9544734","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":635124088,"identity":"b9403ca0-3047-4068-b66a-dfd5184b1cb7","order_by":0,"name":"Atina Manvelian","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Santa Clara University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Atina","middleName":"","lastName":"Manvelian","suffix":""},{"id":635124090,"identity":"75e27a40-1cdb-4c9d-bd5a-b74787725f72","order_by":1,"name":"Erica Szkody","email":"data:image/png;base64,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","orcid":"","institution":"Northwestern University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Erica","middleName":"","lastName":"Szkody","suffix":""},{"id":635124092,"identity":"70333462-ed8e-4fc3-9e0f-7795d487704d","order_by":2,"name":"Katherine A. Cohen","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Northwestern University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Katherine","middleName":"A.","lastName":"Cohen","suffix":""},{"id":635124098,"identity":"868b5f78-b7e4-4776-a884-aefad141eedf","order_by":3,"name":"Jessica L. Schleider","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Northwestern University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jessica","middleName":"L.","lastName":"Schleider","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-04-27 17:09:57","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9544734/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9544734/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":108988503,"identity":"b5b2c06d-f5d1-4343-95da-b359a46c3aef","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-05-11 13:06:24","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":395238,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"UnmaskedFullDraftInterpersonalStressorsCPHD.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9544734/v1_covered_0ecfd193-6e0c-4376-bb55-916002a0ba57.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"Competing interest reported. J.L.S. serves on the Scientific Advisory Board for Walden Wise and the Clinical Advisory Board for Koko and receives book royalties from New Harbinger; Oxford University Press; and Little, Brown Book Group. She is co-founder and chief scientific advisor for Navi. No Navi products were used or are referenced in the present manuscript. The authors report no other financial conflicts or competing interests.","formattedTitle":"Interpersonal Stressors and Adolescent Mental Health During COVID-19: Investigating the Role of Loneliness","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"child-psychiatry-and-human-development","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"chud","sideBox":"Learn more about [Child Psychiatry \u0026 Human Development](http://link.springer.com/journal/10578)","snPcode":"10578","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10578/3","title":"Child Psychiatry \u0026 Human Development","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Adolescents, Loneliness, Family Support, Discrimination, Peer Victimization","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9544734/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9544734/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThe COVID-19 pandemic created social disruptions, leading to high levels of mental health problems for adolescents. Interpersonal stressors, such as lack of familial support, peer victimization, and discrimination, may have further exacerbated teen mental health issues. Yet, the psychological impact of interpersonal stressors and their interactive effects with high levels of loneliness remains unknown. In this pre-registered study, we used a diverse, nationwide sample of adolescents with elevated symptoms of depression (\u003cem\u003en\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;2,452, ages 13\u0026ndash;16) to examine how familial support, peer victimization, and discrimination are concurrently associated with mental health outcomes. For teens with elevated depressive symptomology during the COVID-19 pandemic, lack of familial support, peer victimization, and discrimination were all significantly associated with depression, anxiety, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. A significant moderation was also found with loneliness, such that for youth reporting high levels of loneliness, depression and anxiety symptoms remained high even despite familial support. Furthermore, for youth reporting high levels of loneliness, hopelessness remained high, regardless of their perceptions of peer victimization or daily discrimination. Interpersonal stressors, such as lack of familial support, had a large impact on youth mental health problems during COVID-19. However, despite interpersonal protective factors, high levels of loneliness were associated with depression, anxiety, and hopelessness, suggesting that loneliness should be a high-priority intervention target for youth, particularly during times of national disaster and disconnection.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Interpersonal Stressors and Adolescent Mental Health During COVID-19: Investigating the Role of Loneliness","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-05-11 12:48:27","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9544734/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"233444533502534324029551988248707293056","date":"2026-05-18T15:49:20+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"242870606567716659899871881325267119811","date":"2026-05-15T13:14:12+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"167974292495316621372448785756666664782","date":"2026-05-15T00:38:28+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2026-05-04T01:06:20+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-05-04T01:05:21+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-04-29T11:28:19+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Child Psychiatry \u0026 Human Development","date":"2026-04-27T17:05:05+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"child-psychiatry-and-human-development","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"chud","sideBox":"Learn more about [Child Psychiatry \u0026 Human Development](http://link.springer.com/journal/10578)","snPcode":"10578","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/10578/3","title":"Child Psychiatry \u0026 Human Development","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"d72137ba-861a-4435-9cbe-21a59f7c653f","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 11th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"233444533502534324029551988248707293056","date":"2026-05-18T15:49:20+00:00","index":57,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"242870606567716659899871881325267119811","date":"2026-05-15T13:14:12+00:00","index":54,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"167974292495316621372448785756666664782","date":"2026-05-15T00:38:28+00:00","index":52,"fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"40","date":"2026-05-04T01:06:20+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2026-05-04T01:05:21+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2026-04-29T11:28:19+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"under-review","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-05-11T12:48:28+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-05-11 12:48:27","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9544734","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9544734","identity":"rs-9544734","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}