Changes in mental health of adolescents during three months of the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal study
Background Understanding the effect(s) of the COVID-19 pandemic is key for planning for future pandemics. Aims This study examines change in self-reported mental health difficulties during three months of the pandemic among adolescent (10- to 15-year-olds) participants from the UK Household Long...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Cambridge University Press
2025-09-01
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| Series: | BJPsych Open |
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| Online Access: | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472425108016/type/journal_article |
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| _version_ | 1849238902975496192 |
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| author | Matthias Pierce Emily Banwell Stephanie Gillibrand Margarita Panayiotou Pamela Qualter Luke Munford Ola Demkowicz |
| author_facet | Matthias Pierce Emily Banwell Stephanie Gillibrand Margarita Panayiotou Pamela Qualter Luke Munford Ola Demkowicz |
| author_sort | Matthias Pierce |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Background
Understanding the effect(s) of the COVID-19 pandemic is key for planning for future pandemics.
Aims
This study examines change in self-reported mental health difficulties during three months of the pandemic among adolescent (10- to 15-year-olds) participants from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (waves 7, 9 and 11 of the main survey and waves 4, 5 and 8 of the COVID-19 surveys).
Method
We focused on mental health difficulties using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), using repeated cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses to examine data among 6471 adolescents who responded to at least one survey since 2015, and 2,300 who responded to at least one COVID-19 survey during July 2020, November 2020 or March 2021.
Results
Repeated cross-sectional data showed similar mean total SDQ across surveys before and during the pandemic (range during pandemic 11.4 to 11.9; range pre-pandemic 11.1 to 11.8). Longitudinal analyses provided no evidence of mental health change compared with pre-pandemic trends (estimated change mean SDQ (β) = 0.05, 95% CI −0.42 to 0.51; p = 0.85), or differential sociodemographic effects, except greater effects in rural households (β = 0.67, 95% CI −0.08 to 1.41) than urban environments (β = −0.18, 95% CI −0.69 to 0.33). Though subscales generally saw higher scores during the pandemic than before, these were consistent with pre-pandemic trends, excepting a slight improvement in conduct problems (β = −0.26, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.40).
Conclusions
The study offers evidence among a representative sample that mental health difficulties did not, on average, deteriorate for adolescents during three months of the pandemic.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-85b62f7c8ce54284a43b8114829aa79e |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2056-4724 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-09-01 |
| publisher | Cambridge University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BJPsych Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-85b62f7c8ce54284a43b8114829aa79e2025-08-20T04:01:18ZengCambridge University PressBJPsych Open2056-47242025-09-011110.1192/bjo.2025.10801Changes in mental health of adolescents during three months of the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal studyMatthias Pierce0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2182-0369Emily Banwell1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0922-4727Stephanie Gillibrand2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1007-8824Margarita Panayiotou3https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6023-7961Pamela Qualter4https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6114-3820Luke Munford5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4540-6744Ola Demkowicz6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9204-0912Centre for Women’s Mental Health, Division of Psychology and Mental Health, The University of Manchester, UKManchester Institute of Education, The University of Manchester, UKCentre for Primary Care, School of Health Sciences, The University of Manchester, UKManchester Institute of Education, The University of Manchester, UKManchester Institute of Education, The University of Manchester, UKHealth Organisation, Policy and Economics, The University of Manchester, UKManchester Institute of Education, The University of Manchester, UK Background Understanding the effect(s) of the COVID-19 pandemic is key for planning for future pandemics. Aims This study examines change in self-reported mental health difficulties during three months of the pandemic among adolescent (10- to 15-year-olds) participants from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (waves 7, 9 and 11 of the main survey and waves 4, 5 and 8 of the COVID-19 surveys). Method We focused on mental health difficulties using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), using repeated cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses to examine data among 6471 adolescents who responded to at least one survey since 2015, and 2,300 who responded to at least one COVID-19 survey during July 2020, November 2020 or March 2021. Results Repeated cross-sectional data showed similar mean total SDQ across surveys before and during the pandemic (range during pandemic 11.4 to 11.9; range pre-pandemic 11.1 to 11.8). Longitudinal analyses provided no evidence of mental health change compared with pre-pandemic trends (estimated change mean SDQ (β) = 0.05, 95% CI −0.42 to 0.51; p = 0.85), or differential sociodemographic effects, except greater effects in rural households (β = 0.67, 95% CI −0.08 to 1.41) than urban environments (β = −0.18, 95% CI −0.69 to 0.33). Though subscales generally saw higher scores during the pandemic than before, these were consistent with pre-pandemic trends, excepting a slight improvement in conduct problems (β = −0.26, 95% CI 0.12 to 0.40). Conclusions The study offers evidence among a representative sample that mental health difficulties did not, on average, deteriorate for adolescents during three months of the pandemic. https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472425108016/type/journal_articleCOVID-19young people’s mental healthadolescencehyperactivityemotional problems |
| spellingShingle | Matthias Pierce Emily Banwell Stephanie Gillibrand Margarita Panayiotou Pamela Qualter Luke Munford Ola Demkowicz Changes in mental health of adolescents during three months of the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal study BJPsych Open COVID-19 young people’s mental health adolescence hyperactivity emotional problems |
| title | Changes in mental health of adolescents during three months of the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal study |
| title_full | Changes in mental health of adolescents during three months of the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal study |
| title_fullStr | Changes in mental health of adolescents during three months of the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Changes in mental health of adolescents during three months of the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal study |
| title_short | Changes in mental health of adolescents during three months of the COVID-19 pandemic: longitudinal study |
| title_sort | changes in mental health of adolescents during three months of the covid 19 pandemic longitudinal study |
| topic | COVID-19 young people’s mental health adolescence hyperactivity emotional problems |
| url | https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S2056472425108016/type/journal_article |
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