Sourander Andre, Silwal Sanju, Westerlund Minja, Hodes Matthew, Heinonen Emmi, Hinkka-Yli-Salomäki Susanna, Yaschchyshyna Yuliia, Putyatin Gennadiy, Scott James, Skokauskas Norbert, Osokina Olga
Research Centre for Child Psychiatry, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
INVEST Flagship, University of Turku, Turku, Finland.
JAMA Pediatr. 2026 Feb 1;180(2):187-193. doi: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2025.5094.
Russia first invaded Ukraine in 2014, annexing the Crimean Peninsula and occupying parts of eastern Ukraine. On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a full-scale invasion that is currently ongoing. Despite the chronic nature of the armed conflict, evidence of its cumulative impact on adolescent mental health since 2014 remains limited.
To assess the prevalence of wartime traumatic stressors, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, depressive symptoms, and suicidality and to examine the differential associations of war exposure with adolescent mental health.
DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The Ukraine Adolescent Mental Health Study is a repeated cross-sectional study based on 2 school surveys conducted in 2016-2017 (n = 2766) and again in 2023-2024 (n = 2720). Adolescents aged 11 to 17 years (grades 6 to 9) living in Ukraine were recruited from 2 regions: Donetsk and Kirovograd. Data were analyzed from January 13, 2025, to May 28, 2025.
First phase (2014) and second phase (2022) of the Russian invasion.
Adolescents self-reported wartime traumatic stressors, PTSD symptoms, depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts using standardized tools. The association between demographic variables and wartime traumatic stressors, mental health symptoms, and suicidality were also evaluated.
A total of 5486 adolescent participants residing in Ukraine after 2 phases of the Russian invasion were included in the analyses, of whom 2907 (53.0%) were female; the mean (SD) age was 13.4 (1.7) years. Adolescents exposed to the second phase of the invasion experienced high levels of PTSD symptoms and depressive symptoms, with particularly high rates among adolescents who were living in the war-affected region during the first phase of the invasion (PTSD symptoms: 180 of 1122 participants [16.0%]; odds ratio, 14.08 [95% CI, 8.36-23.72]; severe depressive symptoms: 118 of 1122 participants [10.5%]; odds ratio, 4.83 [95% CI, 3.28-7.11]) compared with adolescents who had no war exposure. War exposure was associated with suicidality in all study groups. A cumulative association was observed between wartime traumatic stressors and mental health outcomes.
The findings of this cross-sectional study suggest that the Russian-Ukrainian war has had a psychological toll on Ukrainian adolescents, indicating long-term consequences for their mental health, resilience, and development. These findings indicate an urgent need to prioritize and scale up mental health interventions to address the needs of adolescents during the ongoing war.
俄罗斯于2014年首次入侵乌克兰，吞并了克里米亚半岛并占领了乌克兰东部部分地区。2022年2月24日，俄罗斯发动了全面入侵，目前仍在继续。尽管武装冲突具有长期性，但自2014年以来其对青少年心理健康累积影响的证据仍然有限。
评估战时创伤应激源、创伤后应激障碍（PTSD）症状、抑郁症状和自杀行为的患病率，并研究战争暴露与青少年心理健康之间的差异关联。
设计、背景和参与者：乌克兰青少年心理健康研究是一项重复横断面研究，基于2016 - 2017年进行的2次学校调查（n = 2766）以及2023 - 2024年再次进行的调查（n = 2720）。从顿涅茨克和基洛夫格勒这2个地区招募了居住在乌克兰的11至17岁（6至9年级）青少年。对2025年1月13日至2025年5月28日的数据进行了分析。
俄罗斯入侵的第一阶段（2014年）和第二阶段（2022年）。
青少年使用标准化工具自我报告战时创伤应激源、PTSD症状、抑郁症状、自杀意念和自杀未遂情况。还评估了人口统计学变量与战时创伤应激源、心理健康症状和自杀行为之间的关联。
在俄罗斯入侵的两个阶段后，共有5486名居住在乌克兰的青少年参与者纳入分析，其中2907名（53.0%）为女性；平均（标准差）年龄为13.4（1.7）岁。经历入侵第二阶段的青少年出现高水平的PTSD症状和抑郁症状，在入侵第一阶段生活在受战争影响地区的青少年中发生率尤其高（PTSD症状：1122名参与者中的180名[16.0%]；优势比，14.08[95%CI，8.36 - 23.72]；严重抑郁症状：1122名参与者中的118名[10.5%]；优势比，4.83[95%CI，3.28 - 7.11]），与未经历战争暴露的青少年相比。战争暴露在所有研究组中都与自杀行为相关。观察到战时创伤应激源与心理健康结局之间存在累积关联。
这项横断面研究的结果表明，俄乌战争对乌克兰青少年造成了心理创伤，预示着对他们的心理健康、恢复力和发展会产生长期影响。这些发现表明迫切需要优先考虑并扩大心理健康干预措施，以满足战争期间青少年的需求。
