Skip to main content

Child and adolescent mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic

Edited by: Anna Ordóñez, Andreas Witt, Andrés Martin, Jörg M. Fegert

The Covid-19 pandemic is profoundly impacting our lives. Therefore, we are proud to present this year’s thematic series “Child and adolescent mental health during the Covid-19 pandemic”. We are seeking high quality papers on the impact of the current pandemic on child mental health and how the mental health systems are adapting to the situation. Given the acute and rapidly changing nature of the pandemic, we are committed to providing a rapid editorial decision. For more information see here and the editorial.

Page 1 of 2

  1. The impact of long-term Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the pediatric population is still not well understood. This study was designed to estimate the magnitude of COVID-19 long-term morbidity 3–6 month...

    Authors: Ziv Hersh, Yiska Loewenberg Weisband, Ariel Bogan, Adir Leibovich, Uri Obolski, Daniel Nevo and Ran Gilad-Bachrach
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2024 18:48
    Content type: Research Published on:

  2. The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown measures have posed a major risk to young people’s wellbeing, which might be ameliorated by peer-led programmes. Using a randomised controlled trial (ISRCTN regist...

    Authors: Gabriela Pavarini, Tessa Reardon, Geoffrey Mawdsley and Ilina Singh
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2024 18:36
    Content type: Research Published on:

  3. Defining children’s “trauma exposure” in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic has been a source of debate. Children were exposed to threatening messaging about COVID-19 but might interpret this information dif...

    Authors: BreAnne A. Danzi, Jessica T. Kelly, Ellen A. Knowles, Evan T. Burdette and Annette M. La Greca
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2024 18:35
    Content type: Research Published on:

  4. The COVID-19 pandemic posed numerous obstacles to psychosocial wellbeing for children. We conducted a longitudinal study to evaluate child mental health and social risks during the pandemic.

    Authors: Rachel Oblath, Rohan Dayal, J. Krystel Loubeau, Julia Lejeune, Jennifer Sikov, Meera Savage, Catalina Posse, Sonal Jain, Nicole Zolli, Tithi D. Baul, Valeria Ladino, Chelsea Ji, Jessica Kabrt, Lillian Sidky, Megan Rabin, Do Yoon Kim…
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2024 18:32
    Content type: Research Published on:

  5. Children and their families often face obstacles in accessing mental health (MH) services. The purpose of this study was to develop and pilot test an electronic matching process to match children with virtual ...

    Authors: Ronda F Lo, Anett Schumacher, Kaitlyn LaForge-Mackenzie, Katherine Tombeau Cost, Jennifer Crosbie, Alice Charach, Evdokia Anagnostou, Catherine S. Birken, Suneeta Monga and Daphne J. Korczak
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2024 18:24
    Content type: Research Published on:

  6. Longitudinal evidence is lacking on the interplay between lifestyle behaviors and depressive symptoms, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study investigated the changes in physical activi...

    Authors: Yujie Liu, Erliang Zhang, Huilun Li, Xin Ge, Fan Hu, Yong Cai and Mi Xiang
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2024 18:11
    Content type: Research Published on:

    The Correction to this article has been published in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2024 18:45

  7. The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted many aspects of everyday life, including the (mental) healthcare system. An increase in depression and anxiety symptoms has been reported worldwide, and is particularly prono...

    Authors: M. Otter, O. D. Kothgassner, L. Lepuschütz, S. Drahos and P. L. Plener
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2024 18:10
    Content type: Research Published on:

  8. Previous studies on screen use and children’s mental health during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic focused only on the timeframe during the pandemic, on children between narrow age ranges, onl...

    Authors: Helena T. Wu, Jiandong Li and Amy Tsurumi
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2024 18:9
    Content type: Research Published on:

  9. Research shows the important role of parents’ mental health literacy in detecting depressive symptoms and supporting their children to seek professional help. Improving mental health literacy in parents has re...

    Authors: Lucia Iglhaut, Regine Primbs, Sara Kaubisch, Chiara Koppenhöfer, Charlotte E. Piechaczek, Pia-Marie Keim, Maria Kloek, Lisa Feldmann, Gerd Schulte-Körne and Ellen Greimel
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2024 18:7
    Content type: Research Published on:

  10. Adolescence has emerged as a particularly vulnerable phase during the COVID-19 pandemic, with eating disorders (EDs) representing a prominent psychopathological challenge linked to the restrictions imposed by ...

    Authors: Paolo Meneguzzo, Alessio Ajello, Mauro Domenico Consolati, Enrico Ceccato, Antonio Vita, Alessandra Sala and Paolo Santonastaso
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2024 18:6
    Content type: Research Published on:

  11. Because physical activity (PA) has many benefits for children’s and adolescents’ mental health, it has been suggested that PA may be an effective strategy to physically and mentally recover from the COVID-19 p...

    Authors: Philipp M. Kopp, Eva Möhler and Peter Gröpel
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2024 18:4
    Content type: Research Published on:

  12. Young carers are children or young people aged up to 25 years old who undertake unpaid caring responsibilities for a friend or family member. Young carers faced significant challenges brought on by the COVID-1...

    Authors: D Hayes, D Fancourt and A Burton
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2024 18:2
    Content type: Research Published on:

  13. The COVID-19 pandemic and accompanying societal measures have impacted children and their families all over the world. Little is known about the factors associated with mental health outcomes in young children...

    Authors: L. J. G. Krijnen, W. M. van Eldik, T. T. M. Mooren, B. van Rooijen, P. A. Boelen, A. L. van Baar, M. Spuij, M. Verhoeven and M. R. Egberts
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:136
    Content type: Research Published on:

  14. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has negatively impacted many aspects of life. Measures for preventing the spread of COVID-19 (e.g., school lockdowns, remote and hybrid classes, group and outdo...

    Authors: Sang Mi Kim, Yeong Mi Jeong, Hye Seon Park and Sulki Choi
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:117
    Content type: Research Published on:

  15. The psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been understudied among vulnerable populations. This study aimed to examine the immediate and longer-term changes in the mental health of children with par...

    Authors: Peipei Wu, Shihong Wang, Xudong Zhao, Jiao Fang, Fangbiao Tao, Puyu Su, Yuhui Wan and Ying Sun
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:113
    Content type: Research Published on:

  16. The economic shutdown and school closures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic have negatively influenced many young people’s educational and training opportunities, leading to an increase in youth not in edu...

    Authors: Meaghen Quinlan-Davidson, Di Shan, Darren Courtney, Skye Barbic, Kristin Cleverley, Lisa D. Hawke, Clement Ma, Matthew Prebeg, Jacqueline Relihan, Peter Szatmari and J. L. Henderson
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:105
    Content type: Research Published on:

  17. Few longitudinal studies have investigated the extended long-term impact of the Covid-19 pandemic for children’s and adolescents’ mental health, and a lack of uniform findings suggest heterogeneity in the impa...

    Authors: Linda Larsen, Stefan Kilian Schauber, Tonje Holt and Maren Sand Helland
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:104
    Content type: Research Published on:

  18. The coronavirus disease (COVID‐19) and universal mitigation strategies have fundamentally affected peoples’ lives worldwide, particularly during the first two years of the pandemic. Reductions in physical acti...

    Authors: Bowen Li, Kwok Ng, Xiuhong Tong, Xiao Zhou, Jiangchuan Ye and Jane Jie Yu
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:92
    Content type: Review Published on:

  19. The past 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic were stressful for most children and adolescents; some children may have experienced a high level of stress and trauma. To date, no study has examined self-reported st...

    Authors: Gabriele Kohlboeck, Anna Wenter, Kathrin Sevecke and Silvia Exenberger
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:83
    Content type: Research Published on:

  21. Considering the heterogenous evidence, a systematic review of the change in anxiety in European children and adolescents associated with the COVID-19 pandemic is lacking. We therefore assessed the change compa...

    Authors: Helena Ludwig-Walz, Indra Dannheim, Lisa M. Pfadenhauer, Jörg M. Fegert and Martin Bujard
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:74
    Content type: Review Published on:

  22. Most research has suggested that children and adolescents had poorer mental health than pre-COVID-19 pandemic status. There have been few investigations into factors associated with pre-peri pandemic differenc...

    Authors: Cheuk Yui Yeung, Vera Yu Men, Wendy W. Y. So, Daniel Yee Tak Fong, Mona Wai Cheung Lam, Derek Yee Tak Cheung and Paul Siu Fai Yip
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:68
    Content type: Research Published on:

    The Correction to this article has been published in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:84

  23. The prevalence of psychiatric disorders has not shifted widely through the COVID pandemic, except for some specific groups such as young people or women. Our objective is to examine prospectively the evolution...

    Authors: Marina Adrados-Pérez, Vicent Llorca-Bofí, María Mur Laín, Carla Albert Porcar, Eugènia Nicolau-Subires, Lucía Ibarra-Pertusa, Andrea Jiménez-Mayoral, Esther Buil-Reiné, Filip Budny, Belén Resa-Pérez, Vanessa Gladys Velásquez-Acebey, Laura Arenas-Pijoan, María Irigoyen-Otiñano and Jorge López-Castroman
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:66
    Content type: Research Published on:

  24. Despite the high burden of mental health problems during adolescence and its associated negative consequences, it has remained neglected especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The 2019 novel Coronavirus disease (CO...

    Authors: Gideon Mbithi, Adam Mabrouk, Ahmed Sarki, Rachel Odhiambo, Mary Namuguzi, Judith Tumaini Dzombo, Joseph Atukwatse, Margaret Kabue, Paul Mwangi and Amina Abubakar
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:63
    Content type: Research Published on:

  25. It is unknown how the patterns of negative and positive attentional biases in children predict fear of COVID-19, anxiety symptoms, and depression symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study identified pro...

    Authors: Qiaochu Zhang
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:61
    Content type: Research Published on:

  26. Adolescents may not all have reacted similarly to the COVID-19 lockdown. This study aimed to identify subgroups of perceptions in adolescents from the PARIS cohort during the first French lockdown, and to inve...

    Authors: Antoine Citerne, Célina Roda, Fanny Rancière and Isabelle Momas
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:59
    Content type: Research Published on:

  27. The COVID-19 pandemic has had implications for adolescents’ interpersonal relationships, communication patterns, education, recreational activities and well-being. An understanding of the impact of the pandemi...

    Authors: Jasmine Gustafsson, Nelli Lyyra, Inga Jasinskaja-Lahti, Nina Simonsen, Henri Lahti, Markus Kulmala, Kristiina Ojala and Leena Paakkari
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:54
    Content type: Research Published on:

  28. Many authors have described a significant mental health burden on children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic, possibly moderated by social disparities. This analysis explores whether pre-pandemic fa...

    Authors: Deborah Kurz, Stefanie Braig, Jon Genuneit and Dietrich Rothenbacher
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:36
    Content type: Research Published on:

  29. Social restrictions due to COVID-19 have impacted the everyday life of adolescents and young adults, with increased levels of stress and anxiety being reported. Therefore, we report primary care visits due to ...

    Authors: Ilari Kuitunen, Mikko M. Uimonen, Ville T. Ponkilainen and Ville M. Mattila
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:35
    Content type: Research Published on:

  30. When COVID-19 spread to Australia in January 2020, many communities were already in a state of emergency from the Black Summer bushfires. Studies of adolescent mental health have typically focused on the effec...

    Authors: Joanne R. Beames, Kit Huckvale, Hiroko Fujimoto, Kate Maston, Philip J. Batterham, Alison L. Calear, Andrew Mackinnon, Aliza Werner-Seidler and Helen Christensen
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:34
    Content type: Research Published on:

  31. Young people have been especially affected by the psychosocial consequences of the covid-19 pandemic. Covid-19 has potentially also been more stressful for vulnerable groups with mental health problems.

    Authors: M. Zetterqvist, Å. Landberg, L. S. Jonsson and C. G. Svedin
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:33
    Content type: Research Published on:

  32. Parents and caregivers belonged to those with the highest burdens during the COVID-pandemic. Considering the close link between parental stress and child maltreatment, identifying families with high parental s...

    Authors: Alina Geprägs, David Bürgin, Jörg M. Fegert, Elmar Brähler and Vera Clemens
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:25
    Content type: Research Published on:

  33. In 2020 the world faced the spread of the coronavirus infection disease (Covid-19). This was a general public health emergency but many people with disabilities might have been particularly affected.

    Authors: Silvia Pizzighello, Marianna Uliana, Michela Martinuzzi, Matteo G. F. Vascello, Martina Cipriani, Martina Breda, Gianni De Polo and Andrea Martinuzzi
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:24
    Content type: Research Published on:

  34. Canadians endured unprecedented mental health (MH) and support access challenges during the first COVID-19 wave. Identifying groups of individuals who remain at risk beyond the acute pandemic phase is key to g...

    Authors: S. Evelyn Stewart, John Best, Robert Selles, Zainab Naqqash, Boyee Lin, Cynthia Lu, Antony Au, Gaelen Snell, Clara Westwell-Roper, Tanisha Vallani, Elise Ewing, Kashish Dogra, Quynh Doan and Hasina Samji
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:20
    Content type: Research Published on:

  35. The medium-term impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the wellbeing of children and adolescents remains unclear. More than 2 years into the pandemic, we aimed to quantify the frequency and determinants of having ...

    Authors: Viviane Richard, Roxane Dumont, Elsa Lorthe, Andrea Loizeau, Hélène Baysson, María-Eugenia Zaballa, Francesco Pennacchio, Rémy P. Barbe, Klara M. Posfay-Barbe, Idris Guessous and Silvia Stringhini
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:17
    Content type: Research Published on:

  36. Although studies of adults show that pre-existing mental disorders increase risk for COVID-19 infection and severity, there is limited information about this association among youth. Mental disorders in genera...

    Authors: Kevin P. Conway, Kriti Bhardwaj, Emmanuella Michel, Diana Paksarian, Aki Nikolaidis, Minji Kang, Kathleen R. Merikangas and Michael P. Milham
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:14
    Content type: Research Published on:

  37. During the COVID-19 pandemic, children and adolescents worldwide have disproportionally been affected in their psychological health and wellbeing. We conducted a cohort study among German school children, aimi...

    Authors: Stefanie Theuring, Mascha Kern, Franziska Hommes, Marcus A. Mall, Joachim Seybold, Frank P. Mockenhaupt, Toivo Glatz and Tobias Kurth
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2023 17:1
    Content type: Research Published on:

  38. Research points to a high depression burden among youth during the COVID-19 pandemic; however, a lack of systematic evidence exists. We determine the change in depression symptoms among children and adolescent...

    Authors: Helena Ludwig-Walz, Indra Dannheim, Lisa M. Pfadenhauer, Jörg M. Fegert and Martin Bujard
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2022 16:109
    Content type: Review Published on:

  39. The Covid-19 pandemic may have had negative effects on youth and parental mental health, especially in high-risk populations such as multi-problem families (i.e., families that experience problems in multiple ...

    Authors: Natasha Koper, Hanneke E. Creemers, Levi van Dam, Geert Jan J. M. Stams and Susan Branje
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2022 16:103
    Content type: Research Published on:

  40. One of the COVID-19 pandemic consequences that has affected families the most is school lockdowns. Some studies have shown that distance learning has been especially challenging for families with a child with ...

    Authors: Lisa B. Thorell, Anselm B. M. Fuermaier, Hanna Christiansen, Ricarda Steinmayr, Dieter Baeyens, Almudena Giménez de la Peña, Madeleine J. Groom, Iman Idrees, Saskia van der Oord, Barbara J. van den Hoofdakker, Marjolein Luman, Irene C. Mammarella and Charlotte Skoglund
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2022 16:101
    Content type: Research Published on:

  41. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic people had to implement various infection prevention measures. Researchers have reported the difficulties experienced by children with neurodevelopmental disorders in implementing ...

    Authors: Tomoka Yamamoto, Sanae Tanaka, Arika Yoshizaki, Yuko Yoshimura, Aishah Ahmad Fauzi, Aida Syarinaz, Ahmad Adlan, Subhashini Jayanath, Norhamizan Hamzah, Haruo Fujino and Masaya Tachibana
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2022 16:78
    Content type: Research Published on:

  42. To examine differences in caregiver and youth reported mental health symptoms for youth initiating mental health treatment through phases of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) pandemic, compared with symptomol...

    Authors: Brent R. Crandal, Andrea L. Hazen, Kelsey S. Dickson, Chia-Yu Kathryn Tsai, Emily Velazquez Trask and Gregory A. Aarons
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2022 16:77
    Content type: Research Published on:

  43. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated rise in anti-Asian hate crimes, we developed the Compassionate Home, Action Together program, (CHATogether) to support the mental health of the Asian Americ...

    Authors: Jae Eun Song, Nealie T. Ngo, Jessica G. Vigneron, Alan Lee, Steve Sust, Andrés Martin and Eunice Y. Yuen
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2022 16:76
    Content type: Research Published on:

  44. Depression and suicidal behavior are the main causes of disability and morbidity, especially in adolescents living with HIV (ALWHIV). Data regarding these are lacking in Botswana, a country with a predominantl...

    Authors: Anthony A. Olashore, Saeeda Paruk, Ontibile Tshume and Bonginkosi Chiliza
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2022 16:62
    Content type: Research Article Published on:

  45. The COVID-19 pandemic is challenging for health care systems around the world. Teletherapy (psychotherapy conducted via videoconference) for children and adolescents offers a promising opportunity not only to ...

    Authors: Lea Meininger, Julia Adam, Elena von Wirth, Paula Viefhaus, Katrin Woitecki, Daniel Walter and Manfred Döpfner
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2022 16:61
    Content type: Research Published on:

  46. The COVID-19 pandemic, associated with confinement and social isolation, seems to have impacted the course of many mental disorders in children and adolescents. An increase in hospital admission rates for juve...

    Authors: Susanne Gilsbach, Maria Teresa Plana, Josefina Castro-Fornieles, Michela Gatta, Gunilla Paulson Karlsson, Itziar Flamarique, Jean-Philippe Raynaud, Anna Riva, Anne-Line Solberg, Annemarie A. van Elburg, Elisabet Wentz, Renata Nacinovich and Beate Herpertz-Dahlmann
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2022 16:46
    Content type: Research Published on:

  47. Adolescents have been deeply exposed to negative consequences of social distancing imposed by Covid-19. There is a lack of longitudinal studies regarding the impact on adolescents of this unfavorable condition...

    Authors: Laura Pedrini, Serena Meloni, Mariangela Lanfredi, Clarissa Ferrari, Andrea Geviti, Annamaria Cattaneo and Roberta Rossi
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2022 16:42
    Content type: Research Published on:

  48. Psychosocial stress during the COVID-19 pandemic is increasing particularly in parents. Although being specifically vulnerable to negative environmental exposures, research on psychosocial stress factors in in...

    Authors: Catherine Buechel, Ina Nehring, Clara Seifert, Stefan Eber, Uta Behrends, Volker Mall and Anna Friedmann
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2022 16:37
    Content type: Research article Published on:

  49. The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly had a significant impact on youth mental health and/or addiction concerns and exacerbated pre-existing gaps in access to mental health and/or addiction care. Caregivers ca...

    Authors: Roula Markoulakis, Andreina Da Silva, Sugy Kodeeswaran and Anthony Levitt
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2022 16:35
    Content type: Research Published on:

  50. An upsurge in psychological distress was documented in pregnant women during the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated with a longitudinal design whether prenatal and postnatal maternal distress during the COVID-...

    Authors: Gabrielle Duguay, Julia Garon-Bissonnette, Roxanne Lemieux, Karine Dubois-Comtois, Kristel Mayrand and Nicolas Berthelot
    Citation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health 2022 16:28
    Content type: Research article Published on: