A mediation model explaining the impact of fear of COVID-19 and COVID-19- induced changes in multiple life domains on adolescents’ subjective well-being in sub-Saharan Africa

by Evelyn Aboagye Addae, Moses Adjei, Uchechi Shirley Anaduaka, David Kyetuo Wuollah-Dire, Regobert Bondong

Though the impact of COVID-19 pandemic’s effects on individuals’ life domains and quality of life has been widely researched, there remains unanswered questions on the mechanisms that explain the impact of fear of COVID-19 on different measurements of adolescents’ subjective well-being (SWB) particularly in the sub-Saharan African context. In a mediation model, we employed data collected during the pandemic to examine the mediating mechanisms that links fear of COVID-19 and COVID-19-induced changes in multiple life domains (subjective feelings of unsafety, positive affect and peer relationships) to different measurements of adolescents’ SWB (overall life satisfaction, overall happiness, subjective happiness, and composite SWB). Findings revealed significant negative correlations between fear of COVID-19 and all employed measurements of SWB as well as between the proposed mediating variables – changes in peer relationship, positive affect, subjective feelings of unsafety and the different measurements of SWB. Adolescents who reported negative changes in peer relationship, positive affect and subjective feelings of unsafety were more likely to report poorer SWB including lower life satisfaction and happiness. For instance, adolescents who experienced increase in peer relationship were more likely to experience higher overall life satisfaction (B = .169, p B = .172, p B = .056, p B = .416, p B = .381, p B = −1.350, p