Healio (12/22, Feliciano) reports a study found that “while most adolescents remained resilient to depression during the COVID-19 pandemic, girls and teens in the later stages of puberty were more vulnerable.” The researchers “classified participants’ depression trajectories as resilient, depression-susceptible or chronically high, based on symptoms scores that tracked six key symptoms of depression, including depressed mood, anhedonia, a sense of guilt or worthlessness, fatigue, sleep and concentration impairments.” They observed that “various pre-pandemic risk factors were associated with the depression-susceptible trajectory, including being in the late pubertal or post pubertal stage before the pandemic, pre-pandemic family conflict, peer bullying, cyberbullying, maternal history of depression, polyenvironmental adversity exposure, and polygenic risk of depression among those of European ancestry.” In contrast, “lower depression susceptibility was associated with parental monitoring and problem-solving skills.” The study was published in JAMA Network Open.
Related Links:
— “Adolescent girls, teens in late puberty faced higher COVID-19 pandemic depression risk,”Octavia Feliciano, Healio, December 22, 2025