article · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
This multinational investigation examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected psychological distress among adolescents. Drawing on a sample of 4,670 young people across Sweden, Morocco, Serbia, Vietnam, and the United States of America, the research evaluated distress levels using the Brief Symptom Inventory alongside nonparametric analyses. The findings reveal that the relationship between the pandemic's impact and adolescent distress varied significantly according to geographic location. A moderate positive link was identified in Morocco and Serbia, while a weak positive relationship appeared in Vietnam and the United States of America. Conversely, Sweden exhibited a weak negative association. Across the participating countries, female adolescents consistently reported higher levels of distress than their male peers, indicating distinct international and demographic differences in mental health responses to the pandemic.
Understanding adolescent mental health during global crises is crucial for developing targeted support systems. Because psychological responses varied widely across different nations and affected female adolescents more severely, interventions cannot follow a universal model. These findings highlight the need for regionally tailored public health approaches and support programmes that reflect the distinct social environments and demographic differences of young people.
The abstract provides early-stage observational data that could inform mental health practitioners, non-profit organisations, and public health authorities designing adolescent wellbeing interventions. However, the abstract does not indicate a direct commercialisation pathway or application mechanism.
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BACKGROUND: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has continued for more than two years, and the impact of this pandemic on mental health has become one of the most important research topics in psychiatry and psychology. The aim of the present study was to assess psychological distress in adolescents across five countries (Sweden, Morocco, Serbia, Vietnam, and the United States of America) during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Using nonparametric analyses we examined the impact of COVID-19 on distress, measured by the Brief Symptom Inventory, in a sample of 4670 adolescents. RESULTS: Our results showed that the association between the COVID-19 impact and psychological distress in adolescents' lives was positive and moderate in Morocco and Serbia, positive and weak in Vietnam and the United States of America, and negative and weak in Sweden. We also found that female adolescents reported higher distress levels than male adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: COVID-19 impacted adolescents and their psychological distress differently depending on their residence.
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DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19148261
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