Adolescent pursuit of health information online during the COVID-19 pandemic: The roles played by eHealth literacy and psychological distress

COVID-19 has led to an increase in mental health problems for adolescents. In this study, we examined the factors related to the eHealth literacy of adolescents and how that impacted their pursuit of health information and mental health information online during the COVID-19 pandemic. We analyzed data from the 2020 Taiwan Communication Survey, which involved a total of 1,250 national representative adolescents who completed an online questionnaire. The results showed that two-thirds of adolescents reported searching for health information online, and about half of them reported searching for mental health information online during the COVID-19 pandemic. Multivariate analysis results indicated that adolescents who spent more time learning online, had higher levels of bonding social capital and self-determination, and had higher levels of parental active internet mediation were more likely to have higher levels of eHealth literacy. In addition, multivariate analysis results showed that adolescents who had higher levels of eHealth literacy and had higher depression and anxiety were more likely to seek health information and mental health information online. In conclusion, the levels of eHealth literacy and psychological distress of adolescents played a crucial role in their pursuit of health information and mental health information online during the COVID-19 pandemic.