Protective and risk factors associated with problem behaviors among disadvantaged children and adolescents in rural China during the COVID-19 pandemic

The global pandemic of COVID-19 has posed critical challenges for child and adolescent health. Prior research, however, has mostly focused on mental health, adult samples, and cross-sectional designs. Using latent change score modeling, this study addressed this gap by examining problem behaviors (operationalized as non-suicidal self-injury behaviors, smartphone addiction, and excessive screen time) under pandemic conditions, by comparing their behaviors before (December 2019) versus during the pandemic (June 2020), among 1,149 disadvantaged children and adolescents from rural China (Mage = 11.86, SD =1.6, age range = 9 to 16 years; 62% males). Findings observed increases in problem behaviors during the pandemic in comparison to children and adolescents’ pre-pandemic behaviors. Risk and protective factors were associated with changes in these problem behaviors. Specifically, prior adverse experiences were linked to more non-suicidal self-injury behaviors and greater smartphone addiction before the pandemic; children with more exposure to childhood adversities experienced more excessive hours of screen time before the pandemic but fewer increases in screen time amid the pandemic. More pandemic-related stress experiences were associated with behavioral health risk (i.e., more increases in non-suicidal self-injury behaviors and smartphone addiction). For protective factors, family support was associated with fewer increases in non-suicidal self-injury behaviors during the pandemic. Older (relative to younger) children had fewer increases in non-suicidal self-injury behaviors but more increases in excessive screen time amid the pandemic. This study extends the literature by illuminating behavioral changes under pandemic conditions, and contributes uniquely to developmental research more broadly by highlighting risk and protective factors associated with changes in problem behaviors.