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. 2025 Jun;56(3):793-808.
doi: 10.1007/s10578-023-01585-y. Epub 2023 Sep 12.

Emerging Adult Resilience to the Early Stages of the COVID-Pandemic: A Systematic Scoping Review

L C Theron  1   2 , K Cockcroft  3 , N Annalakshmi  4 , J G Rodgers  5 , T E Akinduyo  6 , A Fouché  7
Affiliations

Emerging Adult Resilience to the Early Stages of the COVID-Pandemic: A Systematic Scoping Review

L C Theron et al. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev. 2025 Jun.

Abstract

Human resilience to COVID-19 related stressors remains a pressing concern following the aftereffects of the pandemic and in the face of probable future pandemics. In response, we systematically scoped the available literature (n = 2030 records) to determine the nature and extent of research on emerging adults' adaptive responses to COVID-19 stressors in the early stages of the pandemic. Using a multisystem resilience framework, our narrative review of 48 eligible studies unpacks the personal, relational, institutional and/or physical ecological resources that enabled positive emerging adult outcomes to COVID-18 stressors. We found that there is a geographical bias in studies on this topic, with majority world contexts poorly represented. Resources leading to positive outcomes foregrounded psychological and social support, while institutional and ecological supports were seldom mentioned. Multisystemic combinations of resources were rarely considered. This knowledge has valuable implications for understanding resilience in the context of other large-scale adverse conditions.

Keywords: COVID-related stressors; Evidence synthesis; Multisystemic resilience; Young adults.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Competing Interests: Authors have none to declare. Ethical Approval: Not applicable: this systematic review involved no human/animal participants.

Figures

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Fig. 1
Prisma Diagram
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