>>> THE USE OF THE PANDEMIC HAVE BEEN TOUGH ON EVERYONE BUT A NEW STUDY SUGGESTS IT HAS BEEN ESPECIALLY HARD ON YOUNG LATINOS.

RESEARCHERS STUDIED 1200 ELEMENTARY AND MIDDLE SCHOOL CPS STUDENTS OVER THE LAST FOUR YEARS AND FOUND THAT LATINO STUDENTS ARE UP TO TWICE AS LIKELY TO BE AT RISK FOR DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY THIS WAS EVEN MORE PRONOUNCED AMONG LATINO GIRLS AND LaTINA NON-BINARY STUDENTS .

JOINING US NOW IS THE LEAD AUTHOR OF THE STUDY, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST AT DePAUL UNIVERSITY.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

FIRST OF ALL, TELL US MORE.

EXPAND ON WHAT I JUST SAID ABOUT THE FINDINGS.

>> WE CONDUCTED THE STUDY AND WE WERE ABLE TO PULL DATA.

WE WERE CONNECTING THIS INFORMATION PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC -- WE IDENTIFIED -- SORRY.

>> HAD.

>> WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THE RATES OF DEPRESSION BEFORE THE PANDEMIC AND DURING THE PANDEMIC AND THE SAMPLE WAS PRIMARILY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL STUDENTS AND MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS, 11 TO 14 YEARS OLD.

THE RATES OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION WERE PARTICULARLY HIGH FOR LATINO YOUTH.

WE FOUND THEM IN SOCIAL ANXIETY AND SOMETHING WE CALLED GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER.

WE WERE ABLE TO IDENTIFY THAT SOME OF THE FACTORS THAT WE THINK THAT WERE IN PLAY HAVE TO DO WITH THE FEARS THAT THEY HAD DURING THE PANDEMIC.

>> HOW ARE THE FEARS -- ARE YOU SAYING THAT THE FEARS THAT LATINO YOUTH HAD DURING THE PANDEMIC WERE STRONGER, MORE EXACERBATED THAN OTHER GROUPS?

>> YEAH.

WELL, THAT IS SOMETHING WE CAN DO MORE RESEARCH ON BUT CERTAINLY, THE PROBLEMS WERE EXACERBATED, WE THINK, IN PART, BECAUSE YOUTH FROM LATINO BACKGROUNDS HAD FAMILY MEMBERS WHO WORRY CENTRAL WORKERS AND WERE LESS ABLE TO BE SHIELDED FROM THE STRESS ASSOCIATED WITH HAVING SOMEONE IN HARMS WAY.

>> YOU MENTIONED THE RATES FOR LaTINA GIRLS AND LaTINA GENDER NONCONFORMING BINARY STUDENTS WAS EVEN HIGHER.

WHY IS THAT?

>> THAT IS NOT NEW.

THE RATE OF LATINO YOUTH BEING HIGHER IS NOT JUST SOMETHING THAT WE FOUND IN THE PANDEMIC.

WE HAVE BEEN NOTICING THESE TRENDS PRIOR TO THE PANDEMIC FOR ALMOST 2 DECADES.

WHAT IS NEW, I THINK, AND ALSO THE DISPARITY BETWEEN BOYS AND GIRLS -- GIRLS TEND TO DISPLAY MORE DEPRESSION AND MORE ANXIETY.

THEY WERE EXACERBATED DURING THE PANDEMIC.

FOR NON-BINARY STUDENTS, THAT IS A NEW GROUP OF STUDENTS BEING REPRESENTED IN RESEARCH AND THIS IS ONE OF THE FIRST STUDIES TO REALLY DOCUMENT SOME OF THE NEEDS IN THAT RESPECT.

I THINK IT SPEAKS TO HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO PROVIDE A SAFE AND IMPORTANT ENVIRONMENT TO SCHOOLS WHERE THEY CAN BE PROTECT IT AND WHERE THEY CAN BE ATTENDED.

>> YOU JUST THE GIRLS HAVE A HIGHER RATE OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION THAN BOYS.

WHY IS THAT?

>> THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT FACTORS BUT IT STARTS AROUND PUBERTY.

IT STARTS AROUND 11 OR 12 YEARS OLD AND IT CONTINUES ON TO ADULTHOOD.

THERE ARE DIFFERENT FACTORS THAT RESEARCHERS HAVE PROPOSED INCLUDING SOME OF THE TENDENCIES IN TERMS OF RUMINATION.

THAT IS THINKING ABOUT SOMETHING THAT UPSETS YOU AND NOT BEING ABLE TO GET IT OUT OF YOUR HEAD.

>> INTERESTING.

I HAD NOT HEARD THAT RUMINATION THEORY BEFORE.

YOU ALLUDED TO THIS.

YOU FOUND THE TYPES OF ANXIETY YOUNG PEOPLE EXPERIENCE CHANGE DURING THE PANDEMIC.

AMPLIFY ON THAT.

>> KIDS SPENT OVER A YEAR IN ZOOM AND NOT ABLE TO INTERACT WITH OTHER YOUTH.

THEY HAD THEIR CAMERAS OFF WHILE THEY WERE IN SCHOOL.

THEY WERE NOT SOCIALIZING WITH OTHER PEERS.

WE THINK THAT THE TRANSITION FROM THAT TO BEING ABLE TO SOCIALIZE AGAIN, IT WAS LIKE A LOST PERIOD OF TIME WHERE THEY WERE NOT ABLE TO SOCIALIZE.

SOCIAL ANXIETY IS ASSOCIATED WITH HOW YOU FEEL, WHAT OTHERS ARE THINKING ABOUT YOU AND PERFORMANCE ON THEIR PUBLIC SITUATIONS.

>> YOU TALK ABOUT HOW IT WENT FROM GENERALIZED ANXIETY TO GREATER SOCIAL ANXIETY.

WHAT IS THE IMPACT OF WHAT THESE KIDS HAVE BEEN THROUGH?

>> WE HAVE ALL FELT THE IMPACT OF A PANDEMIC AND WE ARE STILL FEELING IT.

PART OF WHAT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND IS THAT THIS IS NOT GOING TO BE SOLVED RIGHT AWAY.

WE NEED TO CONTINUE TO MONITOR HOW THEY ARE DOING AND OBVIOUSLY ADDRESS THE NEEDS THROUGH AS MANY RESOURCES AS WE CAN INCLUDING PROGRAMS WE CAN DELIVER IN SCHOOL.

>> LET ME JUMP BACK TO YOUR STATEMENT ABOUT RUMINATION.

WHAT EXACTLY IS RUMINATION THAT SEEMS TO AFFECT GIRLS MORE THAN BOYS?

>> FOR EXAMPLE, IF YOU HAVE AN EVENT AND IT IS A NEGATIVE EVENT, RATHER THAN BEING ABLE TO PUT IT AWAY, YOU CONTINUE TO THINK ABOUT IT AND YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO DISTRACT YOURSELF OR TO THINK ABOUT IT IN A MORE REALISTIC WAY.

IT CONTINUES TO AFFECT YOU.

YOU ARE NOT ABLE TO SLEEP BECAUSE YOU ARE THINKING ABOUT IT OR YOU ARE DISTRACTED BY IT.

DIFFERENT PEOPLE COPE WITH THAT IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

>> THERE IS A PARTNERSHIP THAT YOU HAVE WITH CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOLS CALLED ACT AND ADAPT.

WHAT IS THAT?

>> THIS IS PART OF WHAT WE WERE DOING WITH THE RESEARCH.

WE WERE NOT JUST SAMPLING STUDENTS TO SEE HOW THEY WERE DOING, WE WANTED TO IDENTIFY THOSE WHO HAD HIGH LEVELS OF ANXIETY, HIGH LEVELS OF DEPRESSION AND TEACH THEM COPING SKILLS.

THAT IS WHAT WE WERE ABLE TO DO.

THROUGH THE GREAT WORK OF SOCIAL WORKERS, SCHOOL COUNSELORS AND COLLEGES THAT PARTNER WITH US, WE TRAIN THEM ON THIS PROGRAM CALLED ACTING IT OUT WHICH IS A COGNITIVE INTERVENTION THAT TEACHES KIDS TO DIRECTLY ADDRESS PROBLEMS RELATED TO INTERNALIZING PROBLEMS SO THINGS LIKE DEPRESSION.