Changes and predictors of adolescent emotion regulation, self-esteem, and locus of control during the COVID-19 pandemic: the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort

There is a growing interest in examining the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent socioemotional development. This study aimed to examine changes in adolescent emotion regulation, self-esteem, and locus of control from before to during the pandemic in a Brazilian birth cohort, and to investigate the variables associated with changes in those socioemotional competences.1,949 adolescents from the 2004 Pelotas Birth Cohort were assessed in the pre-pandemic (T1, November 2019 to March 2020) and mid-pandemic (T2, August to December 2021) waves (mean ages (SD) = 15.69 (0.19) and 17.41 (0.26), respectively). Adolescents' socioemotional competences were assessed, including Emotion Regulation (ER), Self-esteem (SE), and Locus of Control (LoC). Socio-demographic, pre-pandemic and pandemic-related correlates were examined as predictors of change. Multivariate latent change score models were used in the analyses.There was a significant mean increase in levels of adolescents' emotion regulation and self-esteem (MER = 1.918, p < 0.001; MSE = 1.561, p = 0.001), and a significant mean decrease (towards internalization) in the locus of control levels (MLoC = -0.497, p < 0.01) during the pandemic.Factors that predicted a lower competency increase included family conflicts, harsh parenting, and maternal depressive symptoms during the pandemic.Despite the stress imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the adolescents showed a positive development in their socioemotional competences. Family-related factors emerged as important variables in predicting adolescent socioemotional adjustment during the study period.