Children and COVID-19 Research Library

COVID-19 has introduced novel stressors into American adolescents’ lives. Studies have shown that adolescents adopt an array of coping mechanisms and social supports when contending with stress. It is unclear, though, which strategies are most effective in mitigating daily pandemic-related stress, as few micro-longitudinal studies have explored adolescents’ daily affect during COVID-19. Parental support may also be a critical component of adolescents’ pandemic-related coping, as adolescents’ peer networks have been limited by public health measures. This longitudinal study examined links between stress, coping, parental support, and affect across 14 consecutive days and 6216 assessments from a national sample of adolescents (N=444; Mage=15.0; 60% female; 44% Black/African American, 39% White/Europen American, 9% Latinx, 6% Asian American, 2% Native American) during school closures and state-mandated stay-at-home orders between April 8 and April 21, 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the development and worsening of eating disorder (ED) symptoms in adolescents and young adults. In order to examine COVID-19-related trends in ED care-seeking at our institution. This study used interrupted time series regression to examine pre- and postpandemic monthly summary data of the following: ED-related inpatient admissions for medical stabilization; ED-related hospital bed-days; completed outpatient ED assessments; and ED outpatient care-related inquiries at a children’s hospital in Boston, MA.

Pandemics affect the physical and mental well-being of all potentially at-risk young people globally. This longitudinal study examines changes of suicidal ideation status among adolescents during COVID-19. A follow-up after nine-months of a school-based survey among 1,491 secondary school students was conducted during COVID-19. Psychological well-being, psychological factors, family support, and COVID-19-related experiences were examined.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the interaction between (1) sleep and the COVID-19 pandemic; and (2) social cumulative risk and COVID-19 pandemic on executive function (EF). Forty late adolescents/young adults (19.25 ± 1.12 y.o.) completed sleep questionnaires and the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function- Adults (BRIEF-A) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, yielding 80 observations for data analysis. Multilevel random-effects models with interaction terms were used to estimate the associations.

This systematic review and meta-analysis examined the prevalence of depression, anxiety, sleep disorders, and posttraumatic stress symptoms among children and adolescents during global COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 to 2020, and the potential modifying effects of age and gender. A literature search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, PsycINFO, and two Chinese academic databases (China National Knowledge Infrastructure and Wanfang) for studies published from December 2019 to September 2020 that reported the prevalence of above mental health problems among children and adolescents. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to estimate the pooled prevalence.

This study examines the mental health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescents in the United Kingdom as well as social, demographic, and economic variations in the impact. Nationally representative longitudinal panel data from the Understanding Society COVID-19 survey were analyzed. The analytical sample comprises 886 adolescents aged 10–16 years surveyed both before and during the pandemic. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to measure adolescents' mental health.

How adolescent substance use and perceived availability of substances have changed during the COVID-19 pandemic remain largely unknown. Substantial reduction in availability of substances would present a unique opportunity to consider the supply-side hypothesis that reductions in drug availability will lead to reductions in drug prevalence. Longitudinal data come from Monitoring the Future and are based on responses from 582 adolescents who were originally surveyed as part of a national sample of 12th grade students in early 2020, one month before social distancing policies began. They were surveyed again after social distancing policies were implemented, in the summer of 2020.