Characterizing and Predicting Canadian Adolescents’ Internalizing Symptoms in the First Year of the COVID-19 Pandemic
Abstract
Most studies of adolescents’ internalizing symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic have included few data waves, limiting long-term conclusions about adolescents’ mental health during the pandemic. Collecting only a few waves of data precludes examination of intraindividual symptom variability, which may have implications for adjustment beyond mean symptoms. We characterized mean n = 192 adolescents’ internalizing symptoms from March 2020-April 2021 and used mixed effect location scale models to examine established risk factors as predictors of mean trends and intraindividual variability in adolescents’ internalizing symptoms. Adolescents’ symptoms were relatively stable and low over the first year of the pandemic; severity peaked in February and April 2021. Girls showed greater symptoms and greater intraindividual variability in symptoms. Adolescents’ internalizing symptoms and intraindividual variability in symptoms increased as parents’ depressive symptoms increased, while intraindividual variability in adolescents’ internalizing symptoms decreased as parents’ anxious symptoms increased. Implications for intervention and prevention are discussed.