Adolescence is a stage of change that requires review and updating of the resources available to adolescents, in order to make an adequate emotional adjustment, so as not to affect their well-being.

In recent years we have experienced a global pandemic that has mobilized all our resources to adapt to a new and changing situation with a high presence of worries and fears.

This symposium addresses how this situation may have affected well-being and emotional adjustment in adolescence according to the country of residence. The aim is to study the protective factors that help to make an adequate adjustment in situations of high stress.

First, a cross-cultural study is presented between Spain, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Mexico, analyzing comparatively the protective factors for the development of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress.

The next two communications show longitudinal studies with adolescents, from Spain and Ecuador, evaluated before the pandemic and one year after it started. They highlight the factors promoting mental health in each of these populations, taking into account the different stressors they have had to face.

The last presentation deals with the importance of the school context for coping with these situations in the Chilean population. The need to take care of the mental health of teachers and students is emphasized.

Taking into account that for many adolescents this stage requires adaptation and adjustment to maintain their psychological well-being, identifying the protective and promoting factors of mental health in adolescence allows us to develop more effective interventions to help them cope with stressful and shocking situations that may arise.

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Remedios González

Honorary University Professor. University of Valencia. Spain

M. del Remedio González Barrón is Honorary University Professor in the Department of Personality, Evaluation and Psychological Treatments in the Faculty of Psychology at the University of Valencia. Her teaching has focused on clinical child and adolescent psychology. In recent decades she has held various positions such as Vice-Dean of Practicum, Coordinator of the Diploma in Speech Therapy, President of the Iberoamerican Association of Diagnosis and Psychological Evaluation and Vice-President, Director of its journal. She has also been a member of different University and Ministry commissions. She has researched on different topics in childhood, adolescence and adult population (emotions, prosocial behaviour, school coexistence, hospitalisation, intervention programmes, among others). The objectives have focused on determining the risk profiles in the subjects studied. The research has been funded by organisations through public calls for proposals. It has also collaborated with other national and international institutions. Publications have been made in journals of impact, books and presentations at national and international congresses.