Sustained increase in depression and anxiety among psychiatrically healthy adolescents during late stage COVID-19 pandemic.

Background: Adolescents have experienced increases in anxiety, depression, and stress during the COVID-19 pandemic and may be at particular risk for suffering from long-term mental health consequences because of their unique developmental stage. This study aimed to determine if initial increases in depression and anxiety in a small sample of healthy adolescents after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic were sustained at follow-up during a later stage of the pandemic. Methods: Fifteen healthy adolescents completed self-report measures at three timepoints (pre-pandemic [T1], early pandemic [T2], and later pandemic [T3]). The sustained effect of COVID-19 on depression and anxiety was examined using linear mixed-effect analyses. An exploratory analysis was conducted to investigate the relationship between difficulties in emotion regulation during COVID-19 at T2 and increases in depression and anxiety at T3. Results: The severity of depression and anxiety was significantly increased at T2 and sustained at T3 (depression: Hedges' g [T1 to T2] = 1.04, g [T1 to T3] = 0.95; anxiety: g [T1 to T2] = 0.79, g [T1 to T3] = 0.80). This was accompanied by sustained reductions in positive affect, peer trust, and peer communication. Greater levels of difficulties in emotion regulation at T2 were related to greater symptoms of depression and anxiety at T3 (rho = 0.71 to 0.80). Conclusion: Increased symptoms of depression and anxiety were sustained at the later stage of the pandemic in healthy adolescents. Replication of these findings with a larger sample size would be required to draw firm conclusions.

Active coping strategies and less pre-pandemic alcohol use relate to college student mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective To further delineate risk and resilience factors contributing to trajectories of mental health symptoms experienced by college students through the pandemic. Participants n = 183 college students (67.2% female). Methods Linear mixed models examined time effects on depression and anxiety. Propensity-matched subgroups exhibiting “increased” versus “low and stable” depression symptoms from before to after the pandemic-onset were compared on pre-pandemic demographic and psychological factors and COVID-related experiences and coping strategies. Results Students experienced worsening of mental health symptoms throughout the pandemic, particularly during Fall 2020 compared with Fall 2019 (Depression scale d = −0.43 [95% CI: −0.65 to −0.21]). The propensity-matched subgroup exhibiting relative resilience (“low and stable” symptoms) reported less alcohol use prior to the pandemic, greater use of active coping strategies, and less of an impact on their college progress. Conclusions Results point to several potential targets of screening and intervention to decrease residual impacts of the pandemic.

The Impact of COVID-19 on Adolescent Mental Health: Preliminary Findings From a Longitudinal Sample of Healthy and At-Risk Adolescents.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has brought on far-reaching consequences for adolescents. Adolescents with early life stress (ELS) may be at particular risk. We sought to examine how COVID-19 impacted psychological functioning in a sample of healthy and ELS-exposed adolescents during the pandemic. Methods: A total of 24 adolescents (15 healthy, nine ELS) completed self-report measures prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effect of COVID-19 on symptoms of depression and anxiety were explored using linear mixed-effect analyses. Results: With the onset of the pandemic, healthy but not ELS-exposed adolescents evidenced increased symptoms of depression and anxiety (ps < 0.05). Coping by talking with friends and prioritizing sleep had a protective effect against anxiety for healthy adolescents (t = -3.76, p = 0.002). Conclusions: On average, this study demonstrated large increases in depression and anxiety in adolescents who were healthy prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, while ELS-exposed adolescents evidenced high but stable symptoms over time.