Mental health trajectories among children and adolescents up to five years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study

Viviane Richard, Elsa Lorthe, Roxane Dumont, Nicolas Bovio, Natalia B. Fernandez, Mayssam Nehme, Rémy P. Barbe, Klara M. Posfay-Barbe, Idris Guessous, Silvia Stringhini, on behalf of the SEROCoV-KIDS study group

Mental health trajectories of children and adolescents up to 5 years after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic: a longitudinal study, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, June 2026, doi.org/10.1186/s13034-026-01121-5

Abstract:

Background:
The COVID-19 pandemic has had varied effects on the mental health of children and adolescents depending on their experiences, with some consequences persisting after restrictions were lifted. This study aimed to determine the association between the perceived impact of the pandemic and mental health trajectories between 2022 and 2025 among children and adolescents, as well as to identify associated risk and protective factors.

Methods:
The data were drawn from the SEROCoV-KIDS population-based cohort, conducted in Geneva, Switzerland. The perceived impact of the pandemic, assessed in a multidimensional manner, along with various risk and protective factors (socio-demographic, health-related, family and social context, and behavioural) were reported by parents at the start of the study in 2022. Mental health difficulties were then assessed annually between 2022 and 2025. Generalised linear mixed-effects models were used to estimate mental health trajectories according to the perceived impact of the pandemic and to analyse risk and protective factors.

Results:
Among 1,907 children aged 2 to 17, 9.3 per cent had been negatively affected by the pandemic and 7.9 per cent positively, whilst the vast majority (82.8 per cent) had been unaffected or only slightly affected. Compared with children who were not affected or only slightly affected, those who perceived a negative impact experienced more mental health difficulties in 2022 (incidence rate ratio [IRR]: 1.51; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.34–1.70), but these difficulties tended to decrease between 2022 and 2025 (IRR: 0.98; 95% CI: 0.95–1.01). An average to unfavourable financial situation was associated with fewer mental health consequences following a negative impact in 2022 (IRR: 0.64; 95% CI: 0.46–0.89). A positive impact of the pandemic appeared to be associated with greater mental health difficulties among children aged 7 to 12 in 2022 (IRR: 1.36; 95% CI: 0.98–1.89), with a generally stable trend over the follow-up period.

Conclusion:
Nearly five years after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the persistent mental health difficulties observed in children who had been negatively affected by the pandemic had largely resolved. These results are generally reassuring, but highlight the importance of implementing proactive measures to prevent long-term consequences for young people’s mental health during future crises.

Link to the article in English

This text was automatically translated from French using artificial intelligence