Changes in Adolescents' Psychosocial Functioning and Well-Being as a Consequence of Long-Term COVID-19 Restrictions.

This work studied self-reports from adolescents on how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed their behaviors, relationships, mood, and victimization. Data collection was conducted between September 2020 and February 2021 in five countries (Sweden, the USA, Serbia, Morocco, and Vietnam). In total, 5114 high school students (aged 15 to 19 years, 61.8% females) responded to our electronic survey. A substantial proportion of students reported decreased time being outside (41.7%), meeting friends in real life (59.4%), and school performance (30.7%), while reporting increased time to do things they did not have time for before (49.3%) and using social media to stay connected (44.9%). One third of the adolescents increased exercise and felt that they have more control over their life. Only a small proportion of adolescents reported substance use, norm-breaking behaviors, or victimization. The overall COVID-19 impact on adolescent life was gender-specific: we found a stronger negative impact on female students. The results indicated that the majority of adolescents could adapt to the dramatic changes in their environment. However, healthcare institutions, municipalities, schools, and social services could benefit from the findings of this study in their work to meet the needs of those young people who signaled worsened psychosocial functioning, increased stress, and victimization.

Mental Health Profiles in a Sample of Moroccan High School Students: Comparison Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Background: Adolescent high school students may be particularly susceptible to suffering from the effect of isolation, physical distancing restrictions, and school closures imposed during the COVID-19 (Corona Virus Disease 2019) pandemic. Given the biological and psychological changes that occur during this period of development, adolescents' experiences of these pandemic measures could significantly threaten their mental health and cause long-term consequences. Aim: The main objectives of the study were to determine the impact of confinement because of the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions on the psychological distress of Moroccan adolescents and identify the risk and protective factors that could influence their mental health. Methods: The participants in this study were Moroccan high school students who were recruited at two different times-before the COVID-19 pandemic (350 students, mean age: 16.55 years; 53.71% female; data collected in 2014/2015) and after the announcement of the pandemic (457 students, mean age: 16.84; 64.1% female; data collected in 2020). Students responded to an anonymous survey that included several validated instruments, such as the Brief Symptom Inventory and the Godin-Shephard Leisure-Time Physical Activity questionary, and elicited information about the students' psychosocial environment, gender, and age. The scores on the Brief Symptom Inventory dimensions from the pre-pandemic period and during 2020 were compared. A comparison between the scores of the two genders of the 2020 sample was also carried out. In addition, binary regression analysis was performed to predict the associations between gender, frequency of physical activity, the presence of the number of negative psychosocial factors, and those dimensions of the Brief Symptom Inventory that significantly changed between the samples. Results: Female students reported higher psychological distress than male students in both data collection periods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, students scored significantly (p < 0.001) higher in depression and paranoid ideation, and they scored significantly (p = 0.01) lower in hostility and anxiety compared with the pre-pandemic period. Female gender and the experience of physical or psychological abuse significantly increased the risk of reporting higher scores in depression and paranoid ideation symptoms during 2020. Moderate and frequent physical activities were significantly and negatively associated with depression (p = 0.003 and p = 0.004; respectively). Conclusions: This study confirms the stressful impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Moroccan high school students, who reported more symptoms of depression and paranoid ideation compared with the pre-COVID-19 period. Female students reported higher psychological distress than male students did. The experience of physical /psychological abuse during the pandemic worsened mental health, while moderate/frequent physical activity improved it.