Prevalence of Anxiety in Adolescents during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Denpasar

Abstract Background: Corona virus disease - 19 (COVID-19), known as the pneumonia outbreak, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, first occurred in Wuhan, China. Lifestyle transformation might lead to increasing anxiety disorders, especially for adolescents. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of anxiety in adolescents in Denpasar during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This study was performed during June–July 2021 in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia. A cross-sectional observational study was conducted using an online questionnaire to evaluate anxiety among junior and senior high school students during the pandemic of COVID-19. The inclusion criteria were students 12–18 years old and willing to participate. The student who suffered from a chronic disease and has functional disabilities was excluded from this study. The questionnaires were given to the selected subjects through cluster random sampling, which contained 45 anxiety screening questions from Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale, and several questions to evaluate the demographic characteristics. The collected data were analyzed using computer software. Results: This study involved 535 subjects who were dominated by females (67.1%) and the age group 12–14 years, 63.9%. Based on the questionnaire, 248 subjects (46.4%) were anxious, with males being more prevalent than females (56.25% and 41.5%, respectively). The prevalence of anxiety was slightly higher in early adolescence and late adolescence (46.7% and 45.6%, respectively). Most of them experienced obsessive–compulsive (90.7%) and separation anxiety (89.1%). Conclusion: The prevalence of anxiety in adolescence was dominated by males. Early recognition and intervention strategies were important to support adolescents in adapting the life changes.