Environmental unpredictability and self-concept clarity in Chinese adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic: the mediating role of depressive symptoms

The COVID-19 pandemic and related lockdown measures have been linked to mental health problems among adolescents. However, little is known about whether the pandemic environments affect adolescents’ self-development. This study aimed to examine the longitudinal association between environmental unpredictability and self-concept clarity during the pandemic. A two-wave longitudinal study was conducted, involving 812 adolescents (52.2% girls, M_age = 13.54) recruited from two junior high schools in central China. Adolescents reported environmental unpredictability, depressive symptoms and parental autonomy support at Time 1 (November 2020) and reported self-concept clarity at Time 2 (November 2021). Results indicated that environmental unpredictability was significantly negatively associated with self-concept clarity (b = -0.21, p < 0.001), and depressive symptoms mediated this relation (indirect effect = -0.14, 95% CI [-0.18, -0.09]). Furthermore, the indirect effect of depressive symptoms in this association was moderated by parental autonomy support. Environmental unpredictability had a weaker negative effect on adolescents with more parental autonomy support. This study showed that environmental unpredictability may have adverse effects on adolescents’ self-development. Educators and parents should pay attention to the emotional state of adolescents with low self-concept clarity and provide more autonomy support to adolescents.