Given the current COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown in New York City, this project will focus on adolescents' social connectedness, mental health, and alcohol/substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic. Interruptions to normal life and restrictions on adolescents' movements will likely impact their use of social media, in-person interactions, and their mental health. Our research aims are 1) to determine the extent to which adolescents' daily measures of social connectedness, isolation, and sociability metrics (e.g., number of texts, length of time on social media platforms, number and length of calls) during the COVID-19 pandemic align with adolescents' daily mood, mental health status, alcohol/substance use and physiological measures (e.g., sleep, heart rate, stress); 2) to examine adolescents' patterns of social connectedness during the COVID-19 pandemic and impacts on adolescent mental health. We will collect information from adolescents through daily diary surveys, smartphone data, and data from smart watches.
