Editors’ Note and Special Communication: Research Priorities in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Emerging From the COVID-19 Pandemic

Novins, Douglas K.; Stoddard, Joel; Althoff, Robert R.; Charach, Alice; Cortese, Samuele; Cullen, Kathryn R.; Frazier, Jean A.; Glatt, Stephen J.; Henderson, Schuyler W.; Herringa, Ryan J.; Hulvershorn, Leslie A.; Kieling, Christian; McBride, Anne B.; McCauley, Elizabeth; Middeldorp, Christel M.; Reiersen, Angela M.; Rockhill, Carol; Sagot, Adam J.; Scahill, Lawrence; Simonoff, Emily; Stewart, S. Evelyn; Szigethy, Eva; Taylor, Jerome; White, Tonya; Zima, Bonnie T.

doi:10.1016/j.jaac.2021.03.005

Cited by 24 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…To avoid rapid spread of the virus, most countries imposed numerous nationwide measures, including social distancing requirements, closing of schools, and severe restrictions regarding socializing, exercise, and leaving the home. Although adolescents are generally not at risk of developing severe COVID-19 [1,2], the effects of a lockdown may still severely affect adolescents due to the changes imposed on their normal daily routine [3][4][5]. These detrimental effects could even be amplified in adolescents who are at risk of developing psychopathology, because they could be particularly vulnerable for the negative effects of stress and the limited access to support or treatment [5][6][7][8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A longitudinal study of mental health in at-risk adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Bouter

Zarchev

Neve-Enthoven

et al. 2022

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

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Although cross-sectional studies have shown that the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively affected the mental health of adolescents, the effect of the pandemic on adolescents with pre-pandemic symptoms is unclear. We, therefore, tested the hypothesis that adolescents had increased emotional and behavioral problems during the lockdowns imposed during the pandemic.This study included three measurements in a prospective cohort of 1022 adolescents who were oversampled based on their high risk of developing psychopathology. Before the pandemic, we assessed depressive, anxiety, stress, oppositional defiant problems, psychotic experiences and suicidality, using the Youth Self-Report; 445 and 333 of these 1,022 adolescents subsequently completed the online questionnaire in the first lockdown (in April 2020) and in the second lockdown (in January 2021), respectively. Multilevel random intercept regression models were used to determine the change in psychiatric symptoms, including an interaction term to assess whether these changes differed based on the severity of symptoms prior to the pandemic. Throughout the pandemic, the majority of the participating adolescents reported having emotional and behavioral symptoms that were within the normal range. Moreover, the mean symptom scores for all six outcomes decreased significantly among adolescents with high clinical severity prior to the pandemic.In contrast to our original hypothesis, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may not necessarily be detrimental, at least among a specific subgroup of adolescents with pre-existing mental health problems. Moreover, our finding that most adolescents in this at-risk sample did not report experiencing clinically relevant symptoms during the pandemic reflects their resilience during the pandemic.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A longitudinal study of mental health in at-risk adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Bouter

Zarchev

Neve-Enthoven

et al. 2022

Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry

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show abstract

“… 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 Consequently, understanding in what ways and to what extent the pandemic is associated with health and well-being outcomes among various youth subpopulations remains a public health priority, with the related need for high-quality, nuanced research. 18 , 20 , 33 Such research could also help clarify what strategies may be needed to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 and accompanying policies, and identify the groups in greatest need of such strategies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Self-reported Mental and Physical Health Among Norwegian Adolescents Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Andreas

Brunborg

2021

JAMA Netw Open

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Key Points Question Are there differences in self-reported depression symptoms, friendships, physical health, and organized sports participation among adolescents in Norway before vs during the COVID-19 pandemic and across levels of experienced pandemic-related anxiety? Findings This cohort study including 2536 adolescents found that Norwegian adolescents starting high school during the COVID-19-year had lower odds of sports participation than their peers starting high school in preceding years, but no significant differences in depression symptoms, friendships, and physical health. However, elevated depression symptoms and poor physical health were significantly more common in the subgroup of adolescents experiencing high pandemic-related anxiety in the COVID-19 cohort compared with their peers in the pre–COVID cohort. Meaning These findings suggest that most adolescents from this sample coped adequately with the pandemic conditions but that strategies aiming to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 may benefit from identifying youth disproportionally affected by the pandemic-related anxieties.

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“…To avoid rapid spread of the virus, most countries imposed numerous nationwide measures, including social distancing requirements, closing of schools, and severe restrictions regarding socializing, exercise, and leaving the home. Although adolescents are generally not at risk of developing severe COVID-19 1,2 , the effects of a lockdown may still severely affect adolescents due to the changes imposed on their normal daily routine [3][4][5] . These detrimental effects could even be amplified in adolescents who are at risk of developing psychopathology [5][6][7][8] .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A longitudinal study of mental health in adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Bouter¹,

Zarchev²,

N³

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Objective Although cross-sectional studies have shown that the COVID-19 pandemic has negativelyaffected the mental health of adolescents, the effect of the pandemic on adolescents with pre-pandemicsymptoms is unclear. We therefore tested the hypothesis that adolescents had increased emotional andbehavioral problems during the lockdowns imposed during the pandemic.Method This study included three measurements in a prospective cohort of 1022 adolescentswho were oversampled based on their high risk of developing psychopathology. Before the pandemic, weassessed depressive, anxiety, stress, oppositional defiant problems, psychotic experiences and suicidality,using the Youth Self-Report; 445 and 333 of these 1022 adolescents subsequently completed the onlinequestionnaire in the first lockdown (in April 2020) and in the second lockdown (in January 2021),respectively. Multilevel random intercept regression models were used to determine the change inpsychiatric symptoms, including an interaction term to assess whether these changes differed based onthe severity of symptoms prior to the pandemic.Results Throughout the pandemic, the majority of adolescents reported having emotional and behavioralsymptoms that were within the normal range. Moreover, the mean symptom scores for all six outcomesdecreased significantly among adolescents with high clinical severity prior to the pandemic.Conclusion In contrast to our original hypothesis, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic may notnecessarily be detrimental, at least among a specific subgroup of adolescents with preexisting mentalhealth problems. Moreover, our finding that most adolescents did not report experiencing clinicallyrelevant symptoms during the pandemic reflects their resilience during the pandemic.

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Editors’ Note and Special Communication: Research Priorities in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Emerging From the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 24 publications

References 20 publications

A longitudinal study of mental health in at-risk adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

A longitudinal study of mental health in at-risk adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Self-reported Mental and Physical Health Among Norwegian Adolescents Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic

A longitudinal study of mental health in adolescents before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

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