AUTHOR=Cohen Zsofia P. , Cosgrove Kelly T. , DeVille Danielle C. , Akeman Elisabeth , Singh Manpreet K. , White Evan , Stewart Jennifer L. , Aupperle Robin L. , Paulus Martin P. , Kirlic Namik 

TITLE=The Impact of COVID-19 on Adolescent Mental Health: Preliminary Findings From a Longitudinal Sample of Healthy and At-Risk Adolescents

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pediatrics

VOLUME=9

YEAR=2021

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pediatrics/articles/10.3389/fped.2021.622608

DOI=10.3389/fped.2021.622608

ISSN=2296-2360

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Background:</bold> The COVID-19 pandemic has brought on far-reaching consequences for adolescents. Adolescents with early life stress (ELS) may be at particular risk. We sought to examine how COVID-19 impacted psychological functioning in a sample of healthy and ELS-exposed adolescents during the pandemic.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> A total of 24 adolescents (15 healthy, nine ELS) completed self-report measures prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. The effect of COVID-19 on symptoms of depression and anxiety were explored using linear mixed-effect analyses.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> With the onset of the pandemic, healthy but not ELS-exposed adolescents evidenced increased symptoms of depression and anxiety (<italic>p</italic>s &lt; 0.05). Coping by talking with friends and prioritizing sleep had a protective effect against anxiety for healthy adolescents (<italic>t</italic> = −3.76, <italic>p</italic> = 0.002).</p><p><bold>Conclusions:</bold> On average, this study demonstrated large increases in depression and anxiety in adolescents who were healthy prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, while ELS-exposed adolescents evidenced high but stable symptoms over time.</p>