Symposia
ADHD - Child
Rosanna Breaux, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia
Jasmine Lewis, M.S.
Graduate Student
Virginia Tech
Blacksburg, Virginia
Melissa R. Dvorsky, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Children’s National Health System
Washington, District of Columbia
Joshua M. Langberg, Ph.D.
Professor
Virginia Commonwealth University
Richmond, Virginia
Stephen P. Becker, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
Cincinnati, Ohio
Growing concern about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on adolescent mental health has been raised as the pandemic persists. This longitudinal study investigated trajectories of anxiety, depression, and psychological trauma symptoms during the first year of the pandemic and explored potential risk and resilience factors. Participants included 238 adolescents in the USA (55.5% male, Mage=16.74 years), half of whom were diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Participants and a caregiver completed online questionnaires at four timepoints (spring, summer, and fall 2020; spring 2021).
Using growth mixture modeling controlling for pre-COVID-19 anxiety and depression symptoms, two classes were identified for depression (clinical decreasing; 22% and low decreasing; 78%), anxiety (clinical decreasing; 21% and low stable; 79%) and trauma (clinical stable; 22% and low decreasing; 78%) symptoms.
Females were significantly more likely to be in the clinical depression, anxiety, and trauma classes. Adolescents identifying as Black and/or Latinx were significantly more likely to be in the clinical depression and anxiety classes. ADHD status was unrelated to class membership. Adolescents in the low depression, anxiety, and trauma classes had significantly better emotion regulation abilities and more mindfulness than the clinical decreasing/stable classes; however, they reported using significantly less adaptive and maladaptive coping behaviors than the clinical classes. The low classes reported maladaptive coping behaviors to be less effective than the clinical classes; they did not differ on reported efficacy of adaptive coping.
Findings highlight that the majority of adolescents are resilient to the negative mental health impact of the pandemic, with depression, anxiety, and trauma symptoms decreasing on average from spring 2020 to spring 2021. Females and Black/Latinx adolescents were the most at risk for displaying clinical trajectories, controlling for pre-COVID-19 symptoms. Interestingly, our findings suggest that youth experiencing clinical symptoms were engaging in more coping behaviors on average, including both adaptive and maladaptive behaviors, highlighting the need to examine efficacy of such behaviors not just engagement. In contrast, adolescents with better emotion regulation and mindfulness were most likely to be resilient during the pandemic. Importantly, brief, low-cost interventions to improve emotion regulation and mindfulness are available in person and via telehealth.