27.4 Trajectories of Contamination-Related Fears During the Pandemic Among Adolescents: The Role of Baseline Anxiety and Depression

Objectives: As concerns about the mortality and morbidity associated with COVID-19 wane, the mental health consequences of the pandemic are gaining attention. Studies have shown that the prevalence of depression and anxiety have grown among youth over the past year, which has been attributed largely to stress and isolation. Less attention has been paid to how concerns related to being infected with COVID-19, along with guidelines for mask wearing, hand washing, and sanitizing objects, may have led to compulsive washing rituals, which are symptoms present in OCD. It is also critical to identify vulnerability factors, including preexisting anxiety and/or depression. The goal of this study was to examine contamination fears among community adolescents over the first year of the pandemic. Methods: Adolescent participants (aged 14-22 years) were recruited through social media in late March/early April 2020. Consenting participants completed self-reports including the contamination subscale of the Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS), the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7 (GAD-7), and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) every 2 months. Multilevel models, controlling for age and gender, assessed the trajectory of contamination-related fears from April 2020 to April 2021. Results: Participants (N = 332) were 16.5 years old on average, and 88% were female. Only 3 reported having a diagnosis of OCD at baseline. Across the sample, contamination-related fears were highest in April 2020 (M = 12.61;SD = 3.6) and reduced at each follow-up. Participants who reported experiencing significant symptoms of GAD or depression at baseline experienced elevated contamination-related fears at every time point (β = 0.14, p = 0.001 for anxiety;and β = 0.07, p = 0.03 for depression). Even in April 2021, youth with anxiety (M = 8.97) or depression (M = 8.58) reported contamination-related fears. Conclusions: Adolescents’ mental health has been affected by the pandemic;depression and anxiety have been a focus, but symptoms of other mental health concerns have been exacerbated. Contamination-related concerns can perpetuate anxiety and depression;youth fearful of COVID-19 infection may be more isolated and less able to resume typical activities. Considering the full spectrum of mental health domains affected by the pandemic will be important to aiding youth experiencing the mental health sequelae of COVID-19. OCD, DDD, AD