The effects of stress on the well-being and mental health of adolescents and young adults are substantial. Studies show that adolescents and young adults present an increased physiological response to stress compared to children and adults (Lupien et al. 2009). Moreover, stress has been shown to increase the incidence of health and psychiatric problems at this period of development (Angold et al. 2002; Huynh & Chiang, 2018; Shankar & Park, 2016). For these reasons, the increased stress that is caused by social distancing and sudden changes in instructional methods might have a long-term impact that is important to be able to prevent. Understanding which factors of the current situation are perceived as the most stressful and how this specifically affect young adults’ wellbeing will help planning for targeted interventions. Since fluidity of thought has been proved to help increasing brain reserve that in turn promotes overall wellbeing during life time (Colombo, Antonietti, & Daneau, 2018. It will also be interesting, in order to explain specific interventions, to explore if it shows any protective benefits in this specific population. Based on this theoretical background, the study aims at examining the effects of social isolation on young adults (18 years old) by measured their overall stress level (measured as personal, social and school-based stress), their emotional wellbeing and their fluidity of thought.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR Barbara Colombo – Champlain College, Vermont (US) – bcolombo@champlain.edu
CO-PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATORS Simona Carla Silvia Caravita – Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore -simona.caravita@unicatt.it
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