COVID-19 Pandemic Highlighted Significant Rates of Anxiety and Depression Among Adolescents - University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus

Even earlier the COVID-19 pandemic began, teen intelligence wellness successful the United States was a increasing and far-reaching concern.

As the effects of the pandemic rapidly dispersed successful aboriginal 2020, adolescents were impacted successful galore ways, from schoolhouse closures and changes to extracurricular activities to expanding isolation and region from friends.

“The pandemic has been a caller acquisition for each of us, but adolescents whitethorn person been impacted otherwise than different property groups,” explains Anne E. Bowen, erstwhile objective probe coordinator for Stacey Simon, PhD, an subordinate prof of pediatric pulmonary medicine successful the University of Colorado School of Medicine.

In recently published research, Bowen and Simon recovered that of astir 700 13- to 19-year-olds surveyed, astir fractional endorsed mean to terrible anxiousness astatine 2 clip points successful the archetypal twelvemonth of the pandemic and astir 3 quarters endorsed mean to terrible depression.

“During the pandemic, it truly deed location to maine erstwhile teenagers were not capable to spell to school, not capable to socialize, that we were seeing an accrued consciousness of the hardships that they were experiencing,” Simon says. “While determination are a batch of antagonistic things to travel retired of the pandemic, 1 tiny metallic lining is the consciousness of teen intelligence health.”

Reporting anxiousness and depression

The thought to survey anxiousness and slump among adolescents during the archetypal twelvemonth of the pandemic was drawn from a larger survey initiated by Katherine Wesley, PhD, an adjunct prof of pediatric pulmonary medicine successful the CU School of Medicine and survey co-author, to probe teen slumber habits during the pandemic.

“We did an investigation of those information and began discussing however we could larn much astir teen intelligence wellness during that time,” Simon says. “We didn’t truly cognize what to expect, but we knew galore adolescents were location and we hoped to seizure a nationalist practice of this population.”

Using the Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Pediatric Depression and Anxiety abbreviated forms to measure temper symptoms including slump and anxiousness during the 7 days preceding the survey, participants completed eight-item questionnaires successful May 2020 and betwixt November 2020 and January 2021. Wesley and Simon advertised the online self-report survey connected Facebook.

Participants were asked their age, schoolhouse grade, race, ethnicity, and sex identity, arsenic good arsenic their zip codification to measure socioeconomic status. Participants besides were asked whether they antecedently had received a diagnosis of anxiousness oregon slump from a wellness attraction professional.

Hearing and understanding

Of the 694 teen participants who completed questionnaires astatine some clip points, 40% reported a pre-pandemic diagnosis of slump and 49% reported a pre-pandemic diagnosis of anxiety. During the pandemic, astir fractional endorsed mean to terrible anxiousness astatine some timepoints and astir three-quarters endorsed mean to terrible depression.

Anxiety and slump were much often reported by respondents who identified arsenic pistillate oregon sex diverse. Notably, Bowen and Simon recovered that those surviving successful areas of higher assemblage distress besides had higher levels of anxiousness and depression.

“We cognize that economically susceptible communities were, and proceed to be, disproportionally affected by the pandemic. It’s important for clinicians and educators, arsenic good arsenic argumentation makers, to beryllium alert of and instrumentality enactment to mitigate specified disparities,” Bowen says.

Among the lessons tin beryllium gleaned from the probe is the ongoing request for parents oregon caregivers, educators, and wellness attraction providers to beryllium alert of intelligence wellness symptoms, and to enactment unneurotic to physique aboriginal interventions that assistance children cultivate resilience.

“People who enactment with adolescents cognize that they are astatine peculiarly precocious hazard for experiencing these intelligence wellness symptoms,” Bowen says. “I deliberation astatine each level – from legislatures to schoolhouse systems to communities to families – we request to proceed focusing connected however to assistance adolescents marque a steadfast modulation into adulthood.”

Simon adds that portion conversations astir intelligence wellness whitethorn beryllium hard oregon scary for parents oregon caregivers to initiate, “you’re not going to origin immoderate of these symptoms conscionable by opening up the conversation. Parents tin truly assistance their kids consciousness similar they’re being heard and understood by encouraging that connection and taking it seriously, and past seeking assistance if the teen needs it.”