Du Xiayu, Wu Hanzhang, Yalikun Sailigu, Li Jiayi, Jia Jiaojiao, Duan Tieyu, Zhou Zongkui, Ren Zhihong
Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior (CCNU), Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, National Intelligent Society Governance Experiment Base (Education), School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China.
Key Laboratory of Adolescent Cyberpsychology and Behavior (CCNU), Ministry of Education, Key Laboratory of Human Development and Mental Health of Hubei Province, National Intelligent Society Governance Experiment Base (Education), School of Psychology, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China.
J Affect Disord. 2025 Mar 15;373:333-344. doi: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.12.094. Epub 2024 Dec 29.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on adolescent mental health, particularly in China. However, there is a lack of research examining the trends in depressive symptom levels among Chinese adolescents before and after the pandemic. This study aims to investigate the changes in depressive symptom levels among Chinese adolescents pre- and post-pandemic and to identify the factors influencing these changes.
English-language databases (Web of Science, PubMed, Scopus, ProQuest, and Wiley) and Chinese-language databases (CNKI, VIP, and Wanfang) were searched for relevant studies. A total of 90 articles (91 studies) were included in the cross-temporal meta-analysis (N = 473,781), all of which used the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) to measure depressive symptoms in Chinese adolescents. The data for these studies were collected over the period from 2010 to 2023.
Findings indicated that: (1) From 2010 to 2020, year was not a significant predictor of adolescent depressive symptom levels, whereas from 2021 to 2023, year became a significant positive predictor. (2) From 2010 to 2020, females exhibited a more pronounced decrease in depressive symptom levels compared to males; however, from 2021 to 2023, gender differences were not significant. (3) From 2010 to 2020, previous social connectedness, including family size three years prior, divorce rate one year prior, and urbanization level three years prior, significantly and negatively predicted the current year's adolescent depressive symptom levels; however, from 2021 to 2023, the predictive effect of all social indicators was not significant.
This study enhances the understanding of the mechanisms underlying depression among Chinese adolescents and provides a foundation for decision-making in prevention and intervention strategies.
新冠疫情对青少年心理健康产生了深远影响，在中国尤其如此。然而，缺乏关于疫情前后中国青少年抑郁症状水平趋势的研究。本研究旨在调查疫情前后中国青少年抑郁症状水平的变化，并确定影响这些变化的因素。
检索英文数据库（科学网、PubMed、Scopus、ProQuest和Wiley）和中文数据库（知网、维普和万方）中的相关研究。共有90篇文章（91项研究）纳入了跨期元分析（N = 473,781），所有研究均使用患者健康问卷-9（PHQ-9）来测量中国青少年的抑郁症状。这些研究的数据收集时间为2010年至2023年。
研究结果表明：（1）2010年至2020年，年份不是青少年抑郁症状水平的显著预测因素，而2021年至2023年，年份成为显著的正向预测因素。（2）2010年至2020年，与男性相比，女性的抑郁症状水平下降更为明显；然而，2021年至2023年，性别差异不显著。（3）2010年至2020年，先前的社会联系，包括三年前的家庭规模、一年前的离婚率和三年前的城市化水平，对当年青少年抑郁症状水平有显著的负向预测作用；然而，2021年至2023年，所有社会指标的预测作用均不显著。
本研究增进了对中国青少年抑郁症潜在机制的理解，并为预防和干预策略的决策提供了基础。
