Pandemic Tied to Changes in Youth Mental Health
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter
THURSDAY, Aug. 29, 2024 -- The early years of the COVID-19 pandemic were associated with minor, mostly positive changes in youth mental health overall, according to a study published online Aug. 26 in JAMA Network Open.
Courtney K. Blackwell, Ph.D., from the Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine in Chicago, and colleagues investigated within-child changes in youth mental health from prepandemic (Jan. 1, 2015, to March 12, 2020) to midpandemic (March 13, 2020, and Aug. 31, 2022) longitudinal data from 1,229 participants in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes Program.
In generalized linear mixed-effects models, the researchers found minor decreases in externalizing problems (β = −0.88), anxiety (β = −0.18), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD; β = −0.36) and a minor increase in depression (β = 0.22). Across all outcomes, youth with borderline or clinically meaningful prepandemic scores experienced decreases, particularly externalizing problems (borderline, β = −2.85; clinical, β = −4.88). Compared with higher-income and White youth, low-income (β = −0.76) and Black (β = −0.52) youth experienced small decreases in ADHD.
"In this longitudinal cohort study of economically and racially diverse U.S. youth, there was evidence of differential susceptibility and resilience for mental health problems during the pandemic that was associated with prepandemic mental health and sociodemographic characteristics," the authors write.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted August 2024
Further Support and Information on COVID-19
Read this next
Worse Mental Health Trajectories Seen for Survivors of Teen, Young Adult Cancer
WEDNESDAY, May 28, 2025 -- Survivors of adolescent and young adulthood (AYA) cancer have significantly worse mental health trajectories into middle or older adulthood, according...
American Psychiatric Association, May 17-21
The annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association was held from May 17 to 21 in Los Angeles. Participants included clinicians, academicians, allied health...
GLP-1 Receptor Agonists Not Linked to Increased Risk of Psychiatric Adverse Events, Depression
MONDAY, May 19, 2025 -- For patients with overweight/obesity and/or diabetes, glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonist (GLP-1 RA) treatment is not associated with an increased...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.