摘要：The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the countermeasures can have a significant impact on the well-being of children and adolescents. This longitudinal study aimed to examine the changes in adolescents’ functioning and mental health during, compared with before the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: A sample of 331 adolescents, aged 12-16 at T1 (2019) participated in the follow-up study (October 2020). The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) was used to measure psychosocial functioning and mental health, in particular, prosocial behavior, hyperactivity/inattention, emotional symptoms, conduct problems, and peer-relationship problems. A latent class change approach was used for data analysis. Results: A significant increase in hyperactivity/inattention, emotional symptoms, and prosocial behavior from before to during the pandemic was found in the study sample. By using latent change analysis, three change profiles of mental health indicators were identified: 1) ‘Vulnerable adolescents’ with the significant increase in problems of socio-emotional functioning (70.7% of participants); 2) ‘peer problems’ with the increase only of peer relationship problems (19.6%); 3) ‘adaptive’ with the increase of prosocial behavior and decrease in peer-problems (9.7%). Conclusions: The study found a substantial negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in adolescence. These findings highlight the importance to identify and support adolescents in the time of the pandemic more effectively.
