Different Trajectories of Adolescent Mental Health Problems Before and Over the Course of COVID-19: Evidence of Increase, Decrease, and Stability

Abstract

Background. The COVID-19 pandemic and related measures to control the spread of the virus have negatively impacted adolescent mental health. However, the pandemic may have been more consequential for the mental health of some adolescents than others. Little is known about the heterogeneity in mental health responses to the pandemic among adolescents. This study aims to identify and characterize different trajectories of adolescent mental health problems before and over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods. We used data from 1,522 adolescents (M_age = 17.82) collected at four measurement points: autumn 2019 (pre-COVID-19), spring 2020, autumn 2020, and autumn 2021. Mental health problems were assessed using four indicators: emotional symptoms, conduct problems, hyperactivity-inattention problems, and peer relationship problems. Results. Latent class growth analyses identified stable low, stable high, increasing and decreasing trajectories for emotional symptoms, conduct problems, and hyperactivity-inattention problems, and a stable low and stable high trajectory for peer relationship problems. Adolescents with high mental health problems before and during the pandemic reported relatively low levels of family and friend support. Gender, migration background, and family socioeconomic status were not consistently associated with the trajectories across mental health problems. Conclusions. Our findings highlight the diverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health problems among adolescents. This suggests that interventions and support strategies for adolescents to cope with stressful circumstances should be tailored to the specific needs of different groups of adolescents.