Prospective examination of psychological trauma among adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

OBJECTIVE

This longitudinal study investigated the predictors of and changes in psychological trauma during the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHOD

Participants included 236 adolescents (130 males; = 16.74 years in spring 2020; 49.6% diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; 16.1% diagnosed with an anxiety or depressive disorder) in the United States who completed online questionnaires at four timepoints (spring 2020, summer 2020, fall 2020, spring 2021).

RESULTS

Repeated measures ANOVA showed that psychological trauma was highest during stay-at-home orders in spring 2020, and decreased for a majority of adolescents by the summer of 2020. However, ~20% of adolescents exhibited moderate-to-clinical levels of psychological trauma at each timepoint. Four groups were identified based on the presence of psychological trauma symptoms: (a) (normal range across all timepoints; 60.6%); (b) (moderate range at 1 or more timepoints; 18.2%); (c) (clinical range at 1 or more timepoints; 14.0%); and (d) (moderate or clinical range across all timepoints; 7.2%). Females, adolescents with preexisting internalizing disorders, and participants whose families were most impacted by the pandemic were more susceptible to experiencing psychological trauma symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings highlight at-risk populations and suggest that the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in psychological trauma symptoms for approximately 20% of adolescents at some point during the first year of the pandemic. There is critical need to provide mental health services to adolescents, such as through school-based services, to reduce the negative long-term psychological impact of the pandemic. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).