COVID-19 pandemic impact on adolescent mental health: a reassessment accounting for development

Wright, N., Hill, J., Sharp, H., Refberg-Brown, M., Crook, D., Kehl, S. and Pickles, A. (2024) COVID-19 pandemic impact on adolescent mental health: a reassessment accounting for development. European child & adolescent psychiatry. ISSN 1435-165X doi: 10.1007/s00787-023-02337-y

Abstract/Summary

Current prospective reports suggest a pandemic-related increase in adolescent mental health problems. We examine whether age-related change over 11-14 years accounts for this increase. Mothers and adolescents in a UK-based birth cohort (Wirral Child Health and Development Study; WCHADS; N = 737) reported on adolescent depression and behavioural problems pre-pandemic (December 2019-March 2020), mid-pandemic (June 2020-March 2021) and late pandemic (July 2021-March 2022). Analysis used repeated measures models for over-dispersed Poisson counts with an adolescent-specific intercept with age as a time-varying covariate. Maturational curves for girls, but not for boys, showed a significant increase in self-reported depression symptoms over ages 11-14 years. Behavioural problems decreased for both. After adjusting for age-related change, girls' depression increased by only 13% at mid-pandemic and returned to near pre-pandemic level at late pandemic (mid versus late - 12%), whereas boys' depression increased by 31% and remained elevated (mid versus late 1%). Age-adjusted behavioural problems increased for both (girls 40%, boys 41%) and worsened from mid- to late pandemic (girls 33%, boys 18%). Initial reports of a pandemic-related increase in depression in young adolescent girls could be explained by a natural maturational rise. In contrast, maturational decreases in boys' depression and both boys' and girls' behavioural problems may mask an effect of the pandemic.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/114736
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology
Uncontrolled Keywords	COVID-19 pandemic, Adolescence, Sex differences, Depression, Prospective
Publisher	Springer
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