**1. Introduction**

Corona Virus Disease-19 (COVID-19) is a catastrophic health risk, with patients exhibiting symptoms that are often severe, imminent, and/or subtle, leading to very serious psychological, emotional, social, and relational implications for individuals and communities [1–3].

The fear of contagion has become prominent, leading some to believe that the future will be catastrophic and threatening. Fear dominates every other emotion. It is constantly reinforced by media bombardment centered on information about the dead, the number of infections, overcrowded intensive care units, hospitals unable to accommodate the sick, and other news that triggers fears and anxiety. In brief, the news can (oftentimes) spreads discord in society. Widespread panic and hyperarousal symptoms have developed. Individuals must take on a repertoire of somewhat unfamiliar behaviors to protect themselves from the virus and its lethal power. Ritualistic behaviors (with rupophobic and pathophobic imprints) are spreading—useful, perhaps, to contain the virus, but they become distressing signals of alarm and helplessness [2,4,5].

Moreover, the need to reduce the chances of contagion requires social distancing and limiting physical contact. Therefore, relationships between people experience profound changes; for example, direct communication disappears, or, in some cases, people lose the emotional value mediated by non-verbal modalities [2,4,5]. This is especially so since people have been forced to stay home for

months. Meetings, places of worship and leisure, production facilities, services, schools, and universities remained closed, forcing students and teachers to experiment with new forms of 'at distance' teaching and learning [6,7].

Worldwide, elderly people were considered most at risk for getting COVID-19, and were more susceptible to fatal complications from the virus. Therefore, international health authorities and governments around the world directed attention and resources towards the health problems of elderly populations. Doctors, health professionals, clinical departments, and hospitals were forced to reduce their institutional interventions to respond, in the first instance, to the COVID emergency, and to treat thousands of elderly people in need of care. Requests have become increasingly demanding and health facilities are increasingly dominated by COVID patients [8].

In this frame, the world of adolescents and their psychological and emotional reactions become less focused, even if fragile individuals (such as adolescents) have high destabilizing and psychological effects. In a developmental stage, in which emotions, cognition, and peer relationships are oriented towards an expanding positive future of expectations and opportunities [9], a sudden, unpredictable, or very serious danger can compromise relationships, sociability, and any immediate and future planning [6].

A growing body of studies has investigated the psychological needs of children and adolescents during epidemics, and reported early data collected in COVID-19–affected areas in China during the outbreak [10]. Although children and adolescents seem to be less vulnerable than older adults to COVID-19, initial reports from Chinese communities reported that children and adolescents have been psychologically and socially affected, and have manifested significant behavioral disturbances [6,10]. The COVID-19 pandemic can worsen existing mental health problems, and lead to more cases among children and adolescents due to the unique combination of the public health crisis, social isolation, and economic recession [7].

In the USA, pre-COVID-19 epidemiological data reported that 35% of adolescents who received mental health services between 2012 and 2015 had turned to school mental health services [11]. Missing school for a prolonged period, therefore, could become an additional risk for the spread of mental disorders in the long-term, especially for more fragile adolescents who exclusively turn to scholastic health services for psychological and behavioral disorders [11].

Similarly, a recent study in the UK proposed a framework for prioritization relevant to psychological, social, and neuroscientific research, for mental health management during the pandemic [12]. The authors prioritize ascertaining and reducing the impact of the effects of school closures for young people seeking assistance [13–15]. Therefore, since adolescents are not indifferent to the dramatic impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, understanding their behaviors and emotions in response to this emergency can certainly be crucial to their psychological well-being, not only in the short-term, but in the long-term.

The literature on emotion regulation and infectious disease epidemics/pandemics highlights the importance of deepening the role of emotion regulation during these troubling times [16]. On the other hand, the impact of pandemics/global health crises, e.g., the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) outbreak; Hemagglutinin Type 5 and Neuraminidase Type 1 (H5N1- Avian Influenza A) strain; Ebola virus] on the emotional and mental health of individuals has been widely articulated in literature, e.g., [17–19].

The current study aimed to investigate anxiety among a healthy sample of older adolescents, in order to support the need of psychological interventions with adolescents. This developmental stage may be viewed as a significant phase to assess the emotional effects of the pandemic, because it is relatively far off the emotional and behavioral complexity and instability of early adolescence, but not yet emotionally and behaviorally stabilized, as in the young adult stage [9]. The hypothesis of the study was that the COVID-19 pandemic could be a condition that leads to a greater risk of increasing the level of anxiety in healthy older adolescents, compared to the anxiety levels documented by previous literature studies in normal adolescents during non-COVID times.
