Journal article

Longitudinal trajectories of mental health and loneliness for Australian adolescents with-or-without neurodevelopmental disorders: the impact of COVID-19 school lockdowns

S Houghton, M Kyron, D Lawrence, SC Hunter, J Hattie, A Carroll, C Zadow, W Chen

Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines | Published : 2022

Open access

Abstract

Background: The impact of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic school lockdowns on the mental health problems and feelings of loneliness of adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) is hypothesized to be greater than that of their non-NDD peers. This two and a half year longitudinal study compared changes in the mental health and loneliness of Western Australian adolescents pre-COVID-19 (November 2018 and April 2019), immediately prior to COVID-19 school lockdowns (March 2020), and post schools reopening (July/August 2020). Methods: An age-and-gender matched sample of 476 adolescents with-or-without NDDs completed online assessments for mental health and loneliness. Results: Adolescents..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Awarded by University of Western Australia


Funding Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Australian Research Council (#180100252). The funding source had no role in the development, design and conducting of the research; data collection, analyses and interpretation; preparation, writing, review or approval of this manuscript. The authors are appreciative of the schools, teachers, parents and students who made this research possible. The authors have declared that they have no competing or potential conflicts of interest. Open access publishing facilitated by The University of Western Australia, as part of the Wiley -The University of Western Australia agreement via the Council of Australian University Librarians.