Mental health changes in different adolescent groups from before to throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.
| Title: | Mental health changes in different adolescent groups from before to throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. |
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| Authors: | Achterhof R; Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Electronic address: achterhof@essb.eur.nl.; Kirtley OJ; Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.; Lafit G; Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Research Group on Quantitative Psychology and Individual Differences, Faculty of Psychology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.; Akcaoglu Z; Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.; Bamps E; Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.; Hiekkaranta AP; Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.; Hagemann N; Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Flemish Scientific Society for Youth Health Care (VWVJ), Leuven, Belgium.; Hermans KSFM; Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; Strategy and Academic Affairs, Administration and Central Services, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.; Janssens JJ; Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.; Lecei A; Center for Clinical Psychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium.; Myin-Germeys I; Center for Contextual Psychiatry, Research Group Psychiatry, Department of Neurosciences, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium. |
| Source: | Psychiatry research [Psychiatry Res] 2025 Sep 19; Vol. 353, pp. 116733. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Sep 19. |
| Publication Model: | Ahead of Print |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press Country of Publication: Ireland NLM ID: 7911385 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1872-7123 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 01651781 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Psychiatry Res Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: Limerick : Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press; Original Publication: Amsterdam, Elsevier/North-Holland Biomedical Press. |
| Abstract: | Background: The COVID-19 pandemic is assumed to have had a large impact on the mental health of adolescents. Finding out for which youth the mental health impact was largest is imperative for strengthening future crisis responses. In this study, we aimed to assess the impact of the pandemic on the mental health of different sociodemographic groups of general population adolescents in Flanders, Belgium.; Methods: Adolescents were tested for the SIGMA study, at W1 (n=1913; mean age=13.8; 63.1% female; 2018/2019); W2 (n=272; mean age=16.5; 74.0% female; 2020); and W3 (n=227; mean age=18.0; 78.4% female; 2022/2023). Subclinical anxiety, depression, psychoticism, and general psychopathology were measured with the Brief Symptom Inventory-53. Multilevel linear regression models with imputed data sets were used to test cross-wave differences in each psychopathology outcome (controlling for age-related increases), effects of time since the beginning of the pandemic and stringency of pandemic-related measures, and effects of several sociodemographic predictors on levels and changes in psychopathology (from W1 to W2, and from W1 to W3).; Results: Results indicated limited overall early increases in psychopathology (only for depression from W1 to W2), and some decreases in psychopathology levels from W1 to W3 (for anxiety and general psychopathology). Girls and those reporting same-gender attraction reported higher levels of nearly all symptoms.; Conclusion: Although most youth in this sample were resilient during the COVID-19 pandemic, some groups consistently showed high psychopathology levels. Attention is still needed for groups that were at risk before the pandemic, notably, LGTBQIA+ youth.; (Copyright © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.) |
| Competing Interests: | Declaration of competing interest The authors report no competing interest for this work. |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: COVID-19; adolescence; epidemiology; mental health; social determinants |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20250926 Latest Revision: 20250926 |
| Update Code: | 20260130 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.psychres.2025.116733 |
| PMID: | 41005149 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
Journal Article