Short Research Article: Promoting digital citizenship through a school-based intervention in early adolescence in Perú (a pilot quasi-experimental study).

OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the preliminary effectiveness of a school-based intervention to promote digital citizenship (DC) in Perú. METHODS: We piloted a translation and cultural adaptation of a DC curriculum originally designed for the U.S. with students in Perú. Students were assigned to either the Intervention group (n = 136, 52% female; mean age = 13.3) or Control group (n = 130, 55% female; mean age = 13.4). Students in the Control group continued with "business-as-usual" during their advisory period while the Intervention group received the DC curriculum. RESULTS: We found limited evidence that the DC curriculum can promote positive online experience and online conflict resolution skills, as well as increase knowledge regarding DC terms and concepts. However, the lack of strong effects suggests the need to revise materials, improve implementation and consider further adaptations. Nonetheless, results from this proof-of-concept study provide building blocks for future implementations of DC interventions for youth in Latin America.

Socio-ecological Resilience Relates to Lower Internalizing Symptoms among Adolescents during the Strictest Period of COVID-19 Lockdown in Perú.

The COVID-19 pandemic has touched the lives of adolescents around the world. This short-term longitudinal, observational study followed 1,334 adolescents (11-17 yo) to investigate whether social-ecological resilience relates to intra- and inter-personal resources and/or the caregiver relationship relates to changes in internalizing symptoms during five stressful weeks of COVID-19 lockdown in Perú. In this work, we contextualize social-ecological resilience in relation to culturally-relevant personal and caregiver resources that youth can use to adapt to stressful situations. We found that adolescents who reported higher levels of personal, caregiver, and overall resilience had lower levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms at week six. We also find that personal, caregiver, and overall resilience moderated the change in anxiety symptoms from week 6 to week 11 of lockdown in 2020. Our findings underscore the importance of social-ecological resilience related to both intra/interpersonal resources and the caregiver relationship for minimizing the harmful impacts of COVID-19 on adolescent internalizing symptoms.

Positive and Negative Online Experiences and Loneliness in Peruvian Adolescents During the COVID-19 Lockdown.

Global COVID-19 lockdowns have disrupted adolescents' in-person social networks, increasing likelihood of loneliness. Social media can help adolescents maintain and develop peer relationships across distance. In this short longitudinal study with 735 Peruvian adolescents (ages: 11-17) from low-to-middle-income urban settings, we investigated whether online experiences relate to loneliness during initial stages of lockdown. Loneliness remained constant between week 6 and 11 of lockdown, was higher for females and similar across school-grades. Positive and negative online experiences were more frequent for older students, and females experienced more negative online experiences than males. Greater positive online experiences related to lower loneliness, with the reverse pattern for negative online experiences. Our results suggest that positive online experiences may mitigate loneliness during physical isolation.